Alleged Co-Conspirators of Sen. Bob Menendez Plead Not Guilty in Bribery Scheme
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FILE - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., right, and his wife Nadine Arslanian, pose for a photo on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 20, 2022. U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife have been indicted on charges of bribery. Federal prosecutors on Friday announced the charges against the 69-year-old Democrat nearly six years after an earlier criminal case against him ended with a deadlocked jury. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Four individuals, including Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife, Nadine Menendez, have pleaded not guilty in federal court to allegations of a complex bribery scheme involving the New Jersey Democrat. Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes are the other three alleged co-conspirators who appeared in a federal courtroom in New York for the second time after a superseding indictment was filed last week. This indictment charged Sen. Menendez, his wife, and Hana with conspiracy for a public official to act as an agent of a foreign principal.
The superseding indictment alleges that Menendez and his wife engaged in a corrupt relationship with Daibes, Hana, and Uribe from at least 2018 through 2022. They are accused of participating in a bribery scheme that benefited both Menendez and the Egyptian government. The indictment states that the couple accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt.”
While Daibes and Uribe were not charged in the superseding indictment, both appeared in court on Wednesday. Menendez, along with his wife and the three businessmen, were initially charged in the federal bribery scheme on September 23.
The senator’s next court appearance is scheduled for Monday, following the rescheduling of his arraignment on the new charge. Menendez has consistently denied the allegations and reiterated his loyalty to the United States. He stated that the government’s latest charge contradicts his long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt. Menendez emphasized his loyalty solely to the United States, the country his family chose to live in democracy and freedom.
Menendez believes that the new charge is an attempt to wear him down, but he remains steadfast in his innocence and maintains that the facts have not changed. He requests that those who know him and his record give him a chance to present his defense and demonstrate his innocence.
The bribery allegations against Sen. Menendez have garnered significant attention, and the case continues to unfold as he prepares to address the charges against him in court.
