Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez raised $274,500 for his legal defense fund through the end of last month, relying on donations from key New Jersey operatives, a recent document shows.
More than 30 donations were made to the fund in the third quarter of 2023, including four totaling $22,000 that came after the veteran Democrat and his wife, Nadine, were indicted on federal bribery charges on Sept. 22. September, according to the filing with the Senate Office. from Public Records obtained by The Post.
Among the deep-pocketed contributors to the fund were members of the Norcross family, prominent in Garden State Democratic politics, with Donald Norcross currently serving in Congress.
George Norcross, a major figure in South Jersey Democratic politics, donated to Menendez’s defense fund in 2015, at the time of the senator’s previous indictment on federal corruption charges.
He disbursed $10,000 to the new fund on August 3, as did two other members of his family, Alessandra Norcross and Alexandra Norcross.
Senator Bob Menendez has accumulated $274,500 for his legal defense fund as of the end of last month. Matthew McDermott
Other notable individuals who reached the maximum donation of $10,000 were real estate entrepreneurs Michael Barry and David Barry, as well as the International Longshoremen’s Association COPE.
The fund was launched at the beginning of the July quarter.
As of the end of September, it had spent only $55,208, including $50,000 for legal services, of the total cash accumulated, the document shows.
New Jersey businessman George Norcross, co-owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, donated $10,000 to Bob Menendez’s defense fund.AP
The previous criminal case against Menendez in New Jersey ended with a hung jury in 2017.
Some key people who donated to his legal defense fund at the time of his last indictment, such as New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger, notably did not donate this year.
Who is involved in the prosecution of Senator Bob Menéndez?
The New Jersey Democrat faces charges of accepting gold bars and bribes and hiding hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in his home in exchange for using his “power and influence” – including his position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. – to benefit the Egyptian government and two local businessmen.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of bribes, including more than $100,000 in gold bullion.
Senator Robert Menéndez and Nadine Menéndez
The New Jersey Democrat was charged Friday with allegedly accepting a Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan, 13 gold bars and $566,000 in cash, which FBI agents found “stuffed in envelopes” after a search of his home in June 2022.
Senator Menéndez’s wife, Nadine, was accused along with her husband of accepting bribes. The Menendezes also received mortgage payments, a recliner, exercise machines and other items in exchange for protecting co-defendants Wael Hana, José Uribe and Fred Daibes.
Bob Menendez also allegedly attempted to intervene in a criminal case against Daibes by recommending President Biden pick current New Jersey U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger, who the senator said would apply a light touch to the case.
If convicted on all charges, the Democratic senator faces up to 45 years in prison.
Real estate developer Fred Daibes allegedly bribed the senator and his wife with cash and gold bars.
Fred Daibes
Menendez and his wife allegedly had a long-standing relationship with New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes, who, according to court documents, bribed the couple with gold bars and cash in exchange for a series of favors, including the senator’s help in stopping a federal prosecution against Daibes.
Daibes received probation after pleading guilty last year to entering false loan information.
Bob and Nadine Menendez used a cash bribe to purchase a 2009 Mercedes C-Class convertible, authorities say. US District Court
Jose Uribe
In April 2019, Menendez’s wife met with a former Union City, New Jersey, insurance agent, José Uribe, “for five minutes.” Nadine Menendez pulled into a restaurant parking lot where Uribe, 56, handed her $15,000 in cash, court documents allege.
He then used the cash to make a down payment on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class convertible, while Uribe asked the senator to alter the state attorney general’s prosecution of one of his colleagues for insurance fraud, according to court documents.
wael hana
Menendez allegedly updated unnamed Egyptian officials in real time about U.S. military aid to the country through businessman Wael Hana of Edgewater, New Jersey. The businessman sent Menendez’s proposal for the foreign military sale to Egypt of tens of thousands of firearms and tank cartridges to an Egyptian official for approval.
Wael Hana, originally from Egypt, is a businessman.
In early 2021, Hana allegedly used funds from her halal business to ship two exercise machines and an air purifier, among other items, to Menendez’s home.
In exchange for these gifts and other alleged bribes, Menendez improperly pressured a U.S. Department of Agriculture official to protect Hana’s “exclusive monopoly,” granted in 2019, by approving U.S. foods exported to Egypt to comply with halal standards, even though Hana had no prior experience with halal certification, the feds said.
Among the claims in the new indictment, brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, is that Menendez allegedly attempted to meddle in the criminal proceedings of a New Jersey businessman by pressuring President Biden to nominate Sellinger as a federal prosecutor because he apparently believed Sellinger could influence the case.
Sellinger was not charged with any crime.
Menendez, his wife and Garden State businessmen Wael Hana, José Uribe and Fred Daibes pleaded not guilty to the charges on September 27.
Bob Menendez has strongly denied any wrongdoing and has argued that he will clear his name. AP Gold bars that prosecutors cited in the indictment. The browser information suggests that the senator may have looked up the value of those gold bars. US District Court
Last week, prosecutors hit him and his wife with an additional charge for allegedly illegally conspiring to act as a foreign agent for Egypt.
The couple is accused of accepting cash payments worth $486,461 and $150,000 in gold bars, as well as a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible to help the three businessmen and the Egyptian government.
Menendez, 69, allegedly used his political position to send sensitive information to Egyptians, pressure Cairo for military aid and interfere in investigations surrounding his wealthy friends, prosecutors said.
Bob Menéndez pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.AP
The scandal-plagued senator has maintained his innocence. Following the impeachment, he resigned as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His successor, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), recently withheld $235 million in aid to Egypt.
Menendez, who has served in the upper house since 2006, will not attend a classified briefing on Israel this week amid the accusations against him.
A chorus of Democrats including Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and others have implored Menendez to resign as senator.
John Fetterman has been very outspoken in calling for the impeachment of Bob Menendez, and his communications team likes to remind people that he was the first senator to do so.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-NY) has been raising a potential primary challenge. Menéndez has not indicated whether he will run for re-election in 2024, but he is trailing in some preliminary polls.
If convicted, Menendez and his wife could each face decades in prison.
A trial date has been set for May 6.
Menendez has turned to his first son Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, to defend him. Lowell helped defend Menendez in his previous corruption case.
Neither Menendez’s office nor Lowell responded to messages from the Post on Wednesday.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn