U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, who has been under a massive legal cloud since he was indicted on federal corruption charges in September, was hit with a new superseding indictment today detailing his alleged actions on behalf of the government of Qatar.
The new indictment alleges that Menendez, the senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey and until recently the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, accepted bribes from developer Fred Daibes; Daibes, the indictment says, “expected Menendez in exchange to use his influence and power to breach his official duty to assist Daibes, who was seeking millions of dollars in investment from a fund with ties to the Government of Qatar, by performing acts to benefit the Government of Qatar.”
Menendez “made several public statements” in support of Qatar, according to the indictment, and conversed with Daibes about a Senate resolution that praised the Qatari government. He also allegedly introduced Daibes to Qatari investors, including a member of the Qatari ruling family.
In return, Daibes allegedly gave Menendez at least one of the gold bars that have become emblematic of the larger corruption investigation. Daibes also proposed different luxury wristwatches to give to Menendez, and Menendez’s wife, Nadine, was allegedly given Formula One tickets by a top Qatari official.
Menendez’s lawyer, Adam Fee, denied the new allegations in a statement and said that federal prosecutors “are turning this into a persecution, not a prosecution.”
“The government’s new allegations stink of desperation,” Fee said. “Despite what they’ve touted in press releases, the government does not have the proof to back up any of the old or new allegations against Senator Menendez. What they have instead is a string of baseless assumptions and bizarre conjectures based on routine, lawful contacts between a Senator and his constituents or foreign officials.”
The superseding indictment further adds to the extreme legal and political difficulties confronting Menendez. The senator faces charges of bribery, honest services fraud, extortion, and acting as an unregistered foreign agent of the Egyptian government; Daibes, Nadine Menendez, and two other businessmen allegedly involved in Menendez’s dealings have also been charged.
The trial is currently set to begin on May 6, after Menendez’s request to delay it until July was denied by U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein. Menendez has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Regardless of the outcome of the trial, though, Menendez’s political future is likely over. The corruption charges have caused the senator’s poll numbers to plummet, and if he were to run for re-election this year, he’d get virtually no party support anywhere in New Jersey.
This story was updated at 9:36 a.m. on January 3 with a statement from Menendez’s lawyer.
Menendez superseding indictment 2 Jan 2023