US Senator Menendez convicted at corruption trial, cementing political downfall [View all]
Source: Reuters
July 16, 2024 2:59 PM EDT Updated 17 min ago
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday on all 16 criminal counts he faced including bribery at his corruption trial in Manhattan federal court, completing the once-powerful New Jersey Democrat's dramatic downfall.
Senior Democrats including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and fellow New Jersey Senator Cory Booker quickly called on Menendez, who has served in the Senate since 2006 and avoided conviction in a prior 2017 corruption trial due to a deadlocked jury, to resign from the chamber.
Jurors began their deliberations on Friday and met for more than 12 hours over three days before reaching their verdict in a trial that had taken nine weeks. Menendez, 70, had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which also included illegally acting as an agent of the Egyptian government, obstruction of justice, wire fraud and extortion.
Menendez remained defiant after the verdict, telling reporters outside the courthouse that he would appeal, though he did not answer questions about resignation. Menendez previously resisted calls from fellow Democrats to quit after he was charged in September. "I have never violated my public oath. I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country," Menendez, who stepped down as chair of the influential U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee upon being charged, told reporters. "I have never, ever been a foreign agent."
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/jury-reaches-verdict-us-senator-bob-menendezs-corruption-trial-2024-07-16/
Article updated.
Previous articles -
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday on all 16 criminal counts he faced at his corruption trial by a jury in Manhattan federal court, completing the once-powerful New Jersey Democrat's dramatic downfall.
The jury deliberated for more than 12 hours over three days before reaching a verdict in a trial that had taken nine weeks. Menendez, 70, had pleaded not guilty to the charges, which included bribery, acting as a foreign agent and obstructing justice.
The trial centered on what federal prosecutors called several overlapping bribery schemes in which the senator and his wife Nadine Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and car and mortgage payments from three businessmen who wanted his help.
In exchange for bribes, Menendez helped steer billions of dollars in American aid to Egypt, where one of the businessman, Wael Hana, had ties to government officials, according to prosecutors. Menendez also was accused of seeking to influence criminal probes involving two other businessmen, Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.
Original article -
NEW YORK, July 16 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday at his corruption trial by a jury in Manhattan federal court, completing the once-powerful New Jersey Democrat's dramatic downfall.
The jury deliberated for more than 12 hours over three days before reaching a verdict in a trial that had taken nine weeks. Menendez, 70, had pleaded not guilty to 16 criminal charges including bribery, acting as a foreign agent and obstructing justice.
The trial centered on what federal prosecutors called several overlapping bribery schemes in which the senator and his wife Nadine Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and car and mortgage payments from three businessmen who wanted his help.
In exchange for bribes, Menendez helped steer billions of dollars in American aid to Egypt, where one of the businessman, Wael Hana, had ties to government officials, according to prosecutors. Menendez also was accused of seeking to influence criminal probes involving two other businessmen, Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.
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