She’s not just his wife, she’s his bosom friend.
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) allegedly nicknamed his partner and fellow federal criminal defendant Nadine “Bubbles” in gratitude for her ample décolletage, the disgraced fellow lawmaker told New York magazine.
Nadine, who became the second Mrs. Menendez at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, is at the center of the couple’s indictment for alleged conspiracy to work as a foreign agent for Egypt in addition to other corruption charges.
The couple claimed to have met in late 2018 at an IHOP restaurant in Bob Menendez’s political district of Union City, where they were said to have been introduced by the restaurant’s owner.
“He’s very smart and has a great sense of humor, and he’s very, very hot,” Nadine told the New York Times in a 2021 puff piece about their wedding.
Wael “Will” Hana, Senator Bob Menendez and Nadine Arslanian (as she was then known) in March 2018. New York Post
But many of the couple’s confidants and watchers question the story and believe the two had actually known each other for years before.
“He always knew Bob. I think he met her at an event in 2008 in Saddle River or Franklin Lakes,” Nadine Arslanian’s ex-boyfriend told New York.
The Garden State Democrat was previously married to Jane Jacobsen, but divorced in 2005 after a 29-year marriage that produced two children, MSNBC host Alicia Menendez and Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) now.
Long known as a ladies’ man, Menendez is back on the dating scene.
The senator’s wife reportedly lives a relatively luxurious lifestyle, despite facing some financial problems. Nadine Arslanian/Facebook
But by 2018, he had broken up with his latest girlfriend, reportedly because of tensions over intense media scrutiny brought on by his corruption allegations in 2015. The charges were dropped three years later after a jury could not reach a verdict.
Like her future husband, Nadine was divorced in 2005.
Around 2011, she began dating Hackensack attorney Douglas Anton, who represented R. Kelly during his sex trafficking trial.
Anton told The Post in September that Nadine used to call Menendez “every year on her birthday [Jan. 1]. Sometimes he invites her to lunch if he’s doing an event in New Jersey and he’ll go with one of his girlfriends.”
Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, attended the forum just weeks before the allegations were revealed in court.
According to Anton, Menendez asked Nadine during her birthday phone call in 2018 if she was still dating “that lawyer Doug,” and told her that she had been in love with him since 2008. She saw both men “on and off” for the next several months, Anton added.
That May, Anton told The Post, Menendez sent two Capitol Police officers to Anton’s office in Hackensack, with a lawyer friend saying the senator “wanted to bully Doug out of the picture.”
When Nadine and Menendez got serious, he introduced her to some of his friends — including halal meat businessman Wael “Will” Hana, one of the three cronies at the center of the corruption allegations.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he mentioned that he knew Menendez and this guy told him if you could figuratively sleep with him — and he actually did — then they started influencing him,” one former FBI agent speculated. to New York.
“And he understood what they wanted and went to see if he could cultivate it. And it was probably better than they expected.”
The New Jersey Democrat has vehemently denied wrongdoing in the pending corruption case against him. Matthew McDermott
“I think he knows exactly what he’s doing. She wants to live the high life,” added one of Nadine’s ex-boyfriends.
The high life reportedly includes a party persona where Nadine isn’t shy about flaunting her assets.
“Every time he goes out, you can see his chest. It’s always three buttons down,” one of his exes told the magazine. “He likes to be seen.”
“She’s not the kind of breast that should hang without a bra; they kneel. And no bra!” added former “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” star Kim DePaola, with whom Nadine hobnobbed before marrying Menendez. “We’d be like, ‘What?’ We are far from wisdom … and we will look at each other and be fair [say]’Wow.’”
Nadine Menendez was also named in the indictment and her role in the senator’s affairs is under increasing scrutiny.AP
As chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez championed Nadine’s political interests, including successfully debating a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide.
Nadine was born in Beirut, but is of Armenian descent and has claimed that 13 “closest members” of her family were killed at the hands of Turkish forces in the early 20th century.
According to federal prosecutors, Menendez also used his chairmanship to secretly lobby for military aid to Egypt at the request of Cairo government agents he met through Hana and Nadine. He also allegedly guaranteed Hana a monopoly on certifying meat exports to Egypt as halal — and warned Agriculture Department officials to back off when they questioned the concession.
Since being charged, Menendez has stepped down from his committee chairmanship and was replaced by Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.). He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
A photo provided in the indictment shows a wad of cash federal agents found during a search of the senator’s home last year.AP
“The government engages in primitive hunting, where a predator chases its prey until it is exhausted and then kills it,” Menendez said in a statement.
A number of fellow Democrats, led by Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, have demanded that Menendez step aside, but he has refused to do so and has insisted on running for re-election next year.
If he sticks to that promise, Menendez will face stiff competition from Rep. Progressive Andy Kim (D-NJ). New Jersey first lady Tammy Murphy is also reportedly inclined to throw her hat in the ring, with Menendez telling Politico Tuesday that “she’s going to have to deal with a lot of baggage” if she gets in.
Tammy Murphy is widely believed to be eyeing Bob Menendez’s seat. AP
72% of New Jersey voters have an unfavorable view of Menendez, compared to 8% who have a favorable view, according to a Stockton University poll released last week.
More than three-quarters (79%) of Garden Staters are either very or somewhat familiar with the charges against the senator and 71% want him to resign, including 78% of Democrats and 79% of Republicans, per the poll.
The poll was conducted Oct. 9-18 and surveyed 630 New Jersey adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
Menendez’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
