According to recently revealed court filings, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is likely to attempt to attribute the federal bribery accusations faced by him and his wife, Nadine Menendez, to her.
Menendez and his wife were formally charged with criminal offenses in September for purportedly receiving bribes from three entrepreneurs in return for his efforts as the head of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“At trial, as part of his defense, Senator Menendez may elect to testify to communications with his wife that serve to materially decrease any inference of culpability on Senator Menendez’s part. Senator Menendez will explain, for example, what he and his wife discussed contemporaneously with their dinners with Egyptian officials (which colored his understanding of the purpose of such dinners); the explanations that Nadine provided for why [co-defendants Wael Hanna and Jose Uribe] had provided her certain monetary items; the reasons why he sent his wife a series of questions that other Senators purportedly intended to ask an Egyptian official; and many more topics.” the court filing read.
As per the Department of Justice (DOJ), the purported bribes were aimed at safeguarding the businesspeople and promoting the interests of Egypt.
According to a modified indictment, prosecutors claim that Menendez utilized his influence to assist a friend in obtaining a lucrative investment agreement worth millions of dollars from the Qatari government.
This was achieved, in part, by engaging in conduct that were advantageous to Qatar.
Menendez was charged with additional offenses in a subsequent superseding indictment, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice, operating as a foreign agent while holding public office, bribery, extortion, and wire fraud related to honest services.
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