Democrat Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has just been found guilty on all charges in his federal corruption trial.
The jury in the federal corruption trial of “Gold Bar Bob” Menendez, and two of his business associates, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, found the senator guilty on all charges.
The decision comes after a grueling nine-week complex trial in Manhattan.
Menendez pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he accepted an array of bribes in exchange for helping foreign governments.
After the weeks-long trial, jurors deliberated for three days before delivering the verdict on Tuesday afternoon.
Menendez is now facing a sentence of up to 20 years in prison after the conviction on all 16 counts against him.
The judge scheduled the powerful Democrat’s sentencing date for October 29.
During his closing statements of the trial, which concluded last Wednesday, Menendez’s defense attorney, Adam Fee, said:
“Prosecutors have not come close to meeting their burden to show you that any of the gold or cash was given to Senator Menendez as a bribe.
“The absence of evidence should be held against the prosecution,” he said.
He added the prosecution’s evidence “is overwhelmingly clear that this story is shaky and rotten to its core.”
In his five-hour closing argument on Tuesday, federal prosecutor Paul Monteleoni urged jurors to hold the New Jersey Democrat accountable for his alleged misconduct.
“This is a big case,” Monteleoni said.
“But it all boils down to a classic case of corruption on a massive scale.”
During the trial, prosecutors cited emails and text messages from Menendez to prove Menendez’s guilt.
The prosecution also provided FBI testimony to present evidence they argued shows the senator accepted extravagant gifts from foreign governments.
The gifts totaled more than $100,000 worth of gold bars, in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.
The gold and cash were found stuffed throughout Menendez’s New Jersey home.
Menendez was charged by federal prosecutors with 18 counts since he pleaded innocent last year.
All charges were related to a multiyear bribery scheme involving the Egypt and Qatar governments.
In March, an 18-page indictment was wrapped into Menendez’s existing charges already against him and his co-defendants for allegedly acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to benefit the Egyptian government through his power and influence as a senator.
The Democrat senator’s co-defendants include his wife, Nadine Menendez.
The indictment came after co-defendant Jose Uribe – who allegedly gifted Nadine a Mercedes convertible – accepted a plea deal.
Uribe agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
The charges also alleged Menendez committed conspiracy, bribery, acting as a foreign agent, extortion, and wire fraud.
Menendez and his associates were first charged on Sept. 23, 2023.
This is a breaking story.
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