Attorneys for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are expected to meet with federal prosecutors in the coming weeks as the Justice Department nears a decision on whether to prosecute the powerful lawmaker after a years-long corruption investigation.
Expected talks between the 69-year-old’s legal team and prosecutors from the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office will give Menendez a chance to make a case why he should not be charged, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
It was unclear what potential charges could be brought against the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or whether his wife, 56-year-old Nadine Arslanian, had been implicated in the government’s investigation, according to the outlet.
The Southern District of New York’s investigation into Menendez and Arslanian — who has struggled financially and faced foreclosure before marrying the senator in 2020 — has focused on whether they received unreported lavish gifts, including a car and Washington apartment, in return for political gain, according to reports.
Attorneys for Bob Menendez are expected to meet with federal prosecutors in the coming weeks as the Justice Department nears a decision on whether to prosecute the senator. AP
The investigation began in at least 2019, according to the Journal, when federal investigators executed a search warrant against New Jersey businessman Wael Hana, who ran the only company allowed to certify meat exports to Egypt as halal and was an associate of Arslanian.
“Any allegations of cars, apartments, cash and jewelry being provided by anyone associated with ISEG Halal to Senator Menendez or his wife at all, let alone in exchange for any kind of good treatment, are completely baseless,” Hana’s spokesperson told the outlet.
“As previously stated, the Senator remains confident that this matter will be successfully resolved,” Jennifer Morrill, Menendez’s spokeswoman, told The Post on Friday.
It is unclear what potential charges could be brought against the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or whether his wife, Nadine Arslanian, 56, has been implicated in the government’s investigation.Getty Images
The DOJ’s current probe is separate from a 2015 probe that resulted in bribery and corruption charges against a Garden State senator and ended in a trial two years later with a deadlocked jury.
In the 2015 case, prosecutors allege Menendez, who has served in the Senate since 2006, received nearly $1 million in private jet flights, vacations and other gifts from Florida ophthalmologist Dr. Salomon Melgen in exchange for a visa for the doctor’s foreign girlfriend. .
Investigators also allege Menendez received large political donations in exchange for helping Melgen secure lucrative government contracts.
Menendez was also previously investigated for corruption by US Attorney Chris Christie in 2006 over allegations that a non-profit group rented space from him while he helped it secure grant money. No charges were brought in the case and the investigation was closed in 2011.
The Post reported Thursday that Menendez’s wife had cashed in up to $400,000 worth of gold bars between April 7, 2022, and June 16, 2022 — months before his office publicly acknowledged the current federal investigation — and that the senator had set up a legal defense fund to help pay for his lawyers. .
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
