Scandal-ridden Senator Bob Menendez has been hit with new allegations that wealthy businessman friends awarded him lavish gifts — including Formula One race tickets and a Patek Philippe watch — in exchange for an investment deal with a Qatari real estate firm.
Menendez, 70, convinced Middle Eastern governments to push Doha-linked firms to sign contracts with Fred Daibes after the New Jersey developer gave the ruling Democrat cash, gold bars and even sent him a catalog of luxury Swiss watches, according to a superseding indictment filed on Tuesday.
“How about one of these,” Daibes said casually in an email that included an image of a world-famous designer watch.
The filing by Manhattan federal prosecutors, which did not include any new charges, extended the time period of the corruption charges against the New Jersey Democrat to 2023 and added Qatar to Egypt as a country Menendez allegedly traveled to to help his friends.
The senator and his wife Nadine were initially indicted in September on charges of accepting bribes in cash, gold bars and a Mercedes convertible in exchange for helping Daibes and two other businessmen, Wael Hana and Jose Uribe.
Menendez was later indicted the following month for conspiring to act as an agent of the Cairo government, with requests for help relayed to the senator through his wife and Hana.
All five defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Bob Menendez introduced a member of the Qatari royal family and a principal in a company with ties to the Qatari government to a New Jersey businessman, new allegations. AP
According to prosecutors, Daibes began paying Menendez in cash and gold bars to facilitate the Qatar deal in 2021. That June, Menendez allegedly introduced Daibes to royal investors.
Later that summer, Menendez — then chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee — issued a statement supporting the Doha government as part of a shadowy PR campaign on behalf of Daibes, investigators said.
On August 20, 2021, Menendez publicly thanked Qatar for accepting refugees from Afghanistan amid the Biden administration’s disastrous withdrawal from the country.
“I am grateful to see our friends and allies in Qatar set a moral example by accepting Afghans who have finally found safe haven in the US after having to flee for their lives,” the statement read in part.
Just before the press release was issued, Menendez allegedly texted Daibes: “You might want to send them [the Qataris]. I just want to let go.” Daibes did just that, allegedly relaying the statement to investors and another Qatari official.
The senator and his wife Nadine were initially indicted in September on charges of accepting bribes in cash, gold bars and a Mercedes convertible in exchange for helping Daibes and two other businessmen, Wael Hana and Jose Uribe. SDNY
The following month, Menendez and Daibes attended an event organized by the Qatari government. A few days later, on September 27, Daibes texted the senator a photo of an expensive watch — including one that looked like a Swiss-made Patek Philippe.
The indictment did not say whether Menendez received any of the watches, but the next day, the Foreign Relations Committee began working on a resolution publicly thanking Qatar for its help with the Afghan evacuation.
The measure was approved by the Senate in a voice vote the following May.
On Oct. 17 2021, Menendez and his wife were given a lift from the airport by Daibes driver after returning from a trip to Egypt and Qatar, according to the indictment.
The next day, the Garden State Democrat allegedly searched the internet for “how much is a kilo of gold worth.”
Menendez was later indicted the following month for conspiring to act as an agent of the Cairo government, with requests for help relayed to the senator through his wife and Hana. US District Court
In May 2022, the company signed a letter of intent to do a deal with a firm controlled by Daibes, which was made after a dinner meeting involving Menendez and Daibes and the Qatari, prosecutors alleged.
After that, Daibes allegedly presented Menendez with a gold bar. On May 26, 2022, Menendez and Daibes met for dinner and the senator later allegedly searched Google for “gold price per kilo.”
A few weeks earlier, the indictment claims, the Qatari investor gave tickets to the Miami Formula One Grand Prix to Nadine Menendez’s brother at the senator’s request — a gesture repeated last year. Qatar Airways is the main sponsor of the race track.
Finally, the Qatari company invested tens of millions of dollars in the Daibes project in 2023.
“The government’s new allegations smack of desperation,” Menendez’s lawyer Adam Fee said in a statement.
According to prosecutors, Daibes began paying Menendez in cash and gold bars to facilitate the Qatar deal in 2021. AP
“Despite what they tout in press releases, the government has no evidence to support any old or new allegations against Senator Menendez. Instead, what they have is a string of unfounded assumptions and outlandish assumptions based on legitimate routine relationships between Senators and their constituents or foreign officials. They turned this into persecution, not prosecution.
“At all times, Senator Menendez has acted entirely appropriately with regard to Qatar, Egypt, and the many other countries with which he regularly interacts,” Fee added. “Those interactions were always based on his professional judgment of the best interests of the United States because he is, and always has been, a patriot. These latest allegations only reveal the extent to which these hostile prosecutors will poison the public before a trial even begins. But these new allegations change nothing, and their theory will not hold up to the scrutiny of a court or jury.”
Menendez has vigorously denied wrongdoing and resisted calls to resign, including from the Senate Democratic majority and members of his own party in the Garden State.
If he is convicted, the New Jersey Democrat could face up to 45 years in prison.
Menendez, who was first appointed to the Senate in 2006 and has been elected four times since then, previously escaped corruption charges on an unrelated matter in 2017 because of a hung jury.
Menendez has vigorously denied wrongdoing and resisted calls to resign, including from the Senate Democratic majority and members of his own party in the Garden State. AP
He has not revealed whether he intends to run for re-election, but will face a three-way primary battle with Rep. Progressive Andy Kim and New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy.
A trial in the case is scheduled to begin on May 6, although Menendez’s defense team has sought to push the case until after the June 4 primary.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
