Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey — already accused of utilizing his political affect to learn Egypt — was newly charged on Tuesday with utilizing his energy to assist the federal government of Qatar.
Mr. Menendez, 70, was charged by federal prosecutors with accepting bribes from Fred Daibes, a outstanding New Jersey developer, in change for the senator’s assist securing monetary backing from an funding fund with ties to the Qatari authorities.
“When he accepted at least certain of those things of value,” prosecutors wrote, Mr. Daibes “also expected Menendez in exchange to take action to benefit the government of Qatar, and thereby benefit Daibes, who was seeking millions of dollars in investment from a fund with ties to the government of Qatar.”
Legal professionals for Mr. Menendez and Mr. Daibes couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
The brand new indictment broadens the federal government’s allegations that Mr. Menendez, whilst he served as head of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, used his official place to convey advantages to overseas governments in return for a whole bunch of hundreds of {dollars} in bribes. In October, prosecutors accused Mr. Menendez and his spouse, Nadine Menendez, and one other defendant, Wael Hana, of conspiring to have the senator work on behalf of the Egyptian authorities with out registering with the Justice Division.
Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, and his 4 co-defendants have all pleaded not responsible. They’re all scheduled for trial in U.S. District Courtroom in Manhattan in Could.
The brand new indictment additionally suggests for the primary time that the senator and his spouse took steps to attempt to cowl up the alleged bribery after federal brokers raided the couple’s New Jersey home in 2022.
Particularly, prosecutors mentioned that in December 2022 the Menendezes tried to repay tens of hundreds of {dollars} value of bribes that had come within the types of funds for a house mortgage and toward a Mercedes-Benz convertible. In each instances, the couple created documentation describing the unique bribes as loans they have been repaying, the indictment says.
Mr. Daibes had been planning a serious high-rise residential challenge at 115 River Street in Edgewater, N.J., however the challenge misplaced its financing after getting slowed down in a delayed environmental cleanup, court docket information present. In late 2022, Mr. Daibes traveled to London and Qatar to fulfill with potential new lenders.
In January 2023, he finalized a $45 million shared-ownership settlement for the Edgewater challenge with an organization based by a member of Qatar’s royal household, Bergen County deed information present.
