Joe Biden ally US senator Bob Menendez charged with corruption

In exchange for the bribes, the indictment said, Mr Menendez used his influence as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee to push to end a US aid blockade amid concerns over Egypt’s human rights abuses.
It included ghost-writing a letter on behalf of Egypt from his personal email to his Senate colleagues in May 2018 encouraging them to lift a hold on $US300 million in aid to Cairo.
Over the same period he shared sensitive, non-public information about military issues with Egyptian officials over private meetings in his Senate office and steak dinners.
Mr Menendez revealed in July 2018 texts sent on to Egyptian officials that he planned to “sign off” on an arms sale worth $US99 million that included 46,000 target practice rounds and 10,000 rounds of tank ammunition.
He also allegedly used his power and influence to try to disrupt a criminal investigation into an associate by pressing Mr Biden to install a US attorney for New Jersey whom Mr Menendez believed he could influence.
New Jersey governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, as well as several other Democratic state officials and members of the House of Representatives, called for Mr Menendez to resign from the Senate.
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“The alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state,” Mr Murphy said in a statement.
Mr Menendez has stepped down temporarily from his role as chairman of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee until the case is resolved. However, Mr Menendez said he had no plans to resign.
“It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I am not going anywhere,” he said in a statement.
Hugely embarrassing
The Democratic senator’s indictment is hugely embarrassing for the president’s party.
Mr Menendez has been an influential voice in shaping Mr Biden’s foreign policy, rallying support for aid for Ukraine in Congress and taking a strong stand on China as the president has sought to reassert a US role on the world stage.
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Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian. AP
The 69-year-old senator is up for re-election next year and a criminal trial could complicate Democrats’ effort to expand their slim 51-49 seat Senate majority.
Mr Menendez has denied any wrongdoing and accused prosecutors of misrepresenting “the normal work of a congressional office”.
“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” Mr Menendez said.
He has known he was under investigation for around a year and previously set up a legal defence fund.
The couple will appear in court this week charged with three federal criminal counts each, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said. They are conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under colour of official right.
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If convicted, the most serious of the charges could result in up to 20 years in prison.
Manhattan prosecutors said one of the businessmen, who is originally from Egypt, acted as an intermediary between Mr Menendez and Egyptian officials in 2018.
At the time, Cairo was one of the largest recipients of US military aid, but Washington withheld $US195 million in 2017 and cancelled an additional $US65.7 million until the country could demonstrate improvements on human rights and democracy.
After meeting with Mr Menendez, the businessman texted an Egyptian official: “The ban on small arms and ammunition to Egypt has been lifted.”
In exchange, the businessman put Ms Arslanian on his company’s payroll.
But she complained about a key businessman making unfulfilled promises in texts to her husband, saying: “[the businessman] left for Egypt yesterday supposedly and now thinks he’s king of the world and has both countries wrapped around his pinky”.
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It is the second time in almost 10 years that Mr Menendez has been accused of corruption. His 2018 trial on unrelated bribery claims ended with a hung jury.
He appears to be the first sitting senator in US history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations.
The Telegraph London

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