Cuban-born Democratic Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty of corruption, fraud and acting as an agent for the Egyptian government, but he plans to appeal the court’s decision. Meanwhile, his Democratic colleagues in the Senate are urging him to resign, but he refuses to do so.
Frank Rodriguez, a Republican political analyst, said that Senator Menendez, one of the most powerful politicians in Washington, is not only not going to resign as a senator, but is planning to run as an independent in the general elections to be held on November 5, a week after the sentencing hearing scheduled for October 29.
“This will cause the Democratic electorate to split, because there will be some who continue to support him as an independent and others as a Democrat, and this could lead to a Democratic Senate seat in New Jersey being won by a Republican,” said analyst Rodriguez.
Republican support
The analyst explained that the Constitution gives Congress the power to sanction its members and establishes that a two-thirds majority is required to expel a legislator. “The Democrats would need the support of the Republicans, but the latter are not going to solve the problem for the Democrats.”
Rodríguez defined that this is a battle in which the senator of Cuban origin is involved, who claims that he was never an agent of a foreign government and that almost all senators in the normal function of their work have this type of foreign relations, especially he, who was in charge of the International Relations Committee.
“The evidence was quite strong because of the money, the gold bars that were seized from him and the different testimonies of other people, including two others who were defending themselves along with the senator, who were also found guilty of 16 charges that show that there was corruption.”
Rodríguez believes that it is a great sadness that situations like this occur, because Menéndez has been at times a bastion in the defense of the human and political rights of the Cuban people.
“The senator had already had a serious legal problem when he was accused several years ago and finally acquitted, but the image of the senator who was under suspicion had already been damaged. So it was not a surprise, since it was not the first time he had faced a jury. But it is still a shock, given that many Cubans had trusted him in their fight for democracy and freedom in Cuba.”
Menendez faced charges of conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud in 2017 related to an alleged abuse of power in his office. Prosecutors say the senator accepted more than $600,000 in political contributions, a luxury hotel suite at the Park Hyatt in Paris and free rides on a private jet from a wealthy ophthalmologist in exchange for political favors.
The federal trial ended with a mistrial after the jury reported it was hopelessly deadlocked.
They ask for resignation
Bob Menendez has been a member of the Senate since 2006 and previously served in the House of Representatives for 14 years. During his political career he has been a staunch opponent of normalization of relations with Cuba, a harsh critic of Venezuela and China, and a staunch defender of Israel.
According to the prosecution, the 70-year-old parliamentarian allegedly used his power and influence as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to favor businessmen Wael Hana, Fred Daibes and José Uribe, allegedly in exchange for bribes, in collaboration with his wife Nadine Arslanian.
Both Hana and Daibes were also convicted of bribery. The combined charges could result in potential maximum sentences of 222, 85 and 100 years in prison for each defendant, respectively, according to the court. Judge Sidney H. Stein has yet to hand down the corresponding sentences.
Menendez resigned as chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee when the scandal broke in October last year.
Minutes after the jury’s verdict, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the senator to resign, while New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy urged the Senate to expel him if he refuses to step down. Schumer said: “In light of the guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must act accordingly out of respect for his constituents, the Senate and the country.”
Background
In a raid on Menendez’s home in 2022, police discovered about $480,000 in cash hidden among clothes and shoes and in a safe, along with 13 gold bars valued at $150,000 and a Mercedes Benz.
This discovery was crucial in the trial that led the senator and New Jersey businessmen Hana and Daibes to appear before the court of the southern district of Manhattan for two months.
A third defendant, José Uribe, pleaded guilty before trial and cooperated with the prosecution against the legislator and his wife, who could not stand trial due to breast cancer.
Prosecutors accused Menendez of “selling his power” between 2018 and 2022. More than 30 witnesses testified at the trial; dozens of text messages were presented as evidence of a “large-scale corruption scheme.”
Bob Menendez faced 16 of the 18 charges related to the scheme. In addition to trying to influence the courts to stop legal proceedings against Daibes and Uribe, the senator is alleged to have also helped the former, a former friend and successful real estate developer, invest in a Qatar-linked fund.
(email protected)
