New Jersey Dem Senator Bob Menendez accused of taking Qatari bribes

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez (D) has been accused of accepting illegal briberies from the nation of Qatar in a new federal indictment. He allegedly accepted gifts in exchange for vocalizing praise for the Qatari government.

These new allegations come after Menendez, who recently resigned as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was federally indicted in September on allegations that he had been acting as an illegal agent for the nation of Egypt. The Justice Department claims Menendez used his power and influence as a senator to accept hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes to benefit the Egyptian government.

On Tuesday, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment that claims Menendez accepted gifts, including tickets for a racing tournmanet, in exchange for an agreement to help the Qatari government, according to BBC News.

Furthermore, prosecutors allege that the senator accepted cash and gold bars with the knowledge that he was obligated to carry out activities that would benefit the Qatari government and assist a fund affiliated with that government in providing a multimillion-dollar investment to another defendant, Fred Daibes. Prosecutors allege that Menendez was cognizant of the expectation that he would assist Qatar in convincing a Qatari investment firm to form an alliance with Daibes, Fox 5 reports.

In December, the FBI alleged that they found at least four gold bars at Mendendez's residence that were reportedly linked to Daibes. Prosecutors claim the senator accepted the gold bars as a form of bribery. 

The FBI indictment alleges that Daibes, along with fellow businessmen Wael Hana and Jose Uribe, participated "in a years-long bribery scheme," and that Bob Menendez and his wife "accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes" from the three in exchange for Menendez’s "agreement to use his official position to protect and enrich them and to benefit the Government of Egypt."

In September, Sen. Menendez pleaded not guilty to three counts of bribery charges. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were accused of receiving bribes in the form of "cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value."

Menendez's lawyer Adam Fee told USA Today that "The government's new allegations stink of desperation."

"This latest Indictment only exposes the lengths to which these hostile prosecutors will go to poison the public before a trial even begins. But these new allegations don't change a thing, and their theories won't survive the scrutiny of the court or a jury," Fee said.

Prior to his indictment on Feb. 3, 2021, Menendez served as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. From Feb. 6, 2018, until he assumed the chair position, he was the highest-ranking committee member of his party during the Democratic minority in the Senate under the Trump administration. His status as a committee member has not changed.

The indictment states that Menendez connected Daibes with the principal of a Qatari investment firm, a member of the Qatari royal family, who began contemplating a multimillion-dollar investment in a Daibes real estate project in New Jersey. Prosecutors note that Menendez issued numerous public statements in support of the Qatari government during that period.

Menendez allegedly transmitted to Daibes, via an encrypted messaging application, on Aug. 20, 2021, the text of a press release in which he praised Qatar in which he said to Daibes "You might want to send to them. I am just about to release."

Prosecutors assert that shortly thereafter, the Prince of Qatar communicated with a Qatari official, "I received a copy from F."

On that same day, Menendez released a statement in which he lauded Qatari allies, characterizing them as "moral exemplars" due to their hospitality towards Afghan refugees who were seeking refuge in the United States after escaping the Taliban, prosecutors allege.

The Democrat senator, according to the indictment, vowed to "closely follow the Biden administration's efforts to dispatch more U.S. personnel to Qatar to scale up and expedite Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) applications as well as other complementary pathways for protection."

The following day, Menendez praised the Qatari government in a statement for its "recent contribution of an additional $100 million towards humanitarian operations in Yemen to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the country."

"I encourage all countries to follow Qatar's example and fulfill their pledges to help alleviate this devastating crisis," said Menendez, according to USA Today.

Both Congressional Democrats and Republicans have called on Menendez to resign; however, he has refused to do so and has maintained his innocence.