New York, Jan 30 (IANS) Former Senator Bob Menendez, who wielded considerable power as the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been sentenced to 11 years in a bribery case that put a spotlight on international attempts to influence US policy.
“You stood at the apex of our political system” but “lost your way and working for the public good became working for your good”, Federal Judge Sidney Stein said here on Wednesday imposing the sentence on a tearful 71-year-old Menendez.
Menendez, who represented New Jersey, received cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes Benz car and was convicted in July on 16 charges including acting as an agent of Egypt, bribery, fraud, and conspiracy.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, is facing related charges, but her trial is on hold because she is undergoing cancer treatment.
Two businessmen, who gave him the bribes were also sentenced on Wednesday to prison time and fines of over $1 million. Another businessman pleaded guilty to charges against him and became an approver appearing as a prosecution witness.
Qatar figured in the case but without direct involvement. Prosecutors said that to help a real estate developer get financing from there, Menendez made positive comments about the kingdom.
Menendez was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and resigned the position when he was charged in 2023 and the next year, he quit the Senate ending an 18-year run.
He had escaped conviction in 2017 when a divided jury failed to convict him on other corruption charges, but the law caught up to him last year.Pleading for mercy, Menendez called himself a “chastened man” and told the court, “Other than family, I have lost everything I ever cared about”.
His son, Rob Menendez, who is a member of the House of Representatives, was in court during the sentencing. Outside the court, Menendez said, “This process is political and it’s corrupted to the core”.
He hinted at an appeal for a pardon from President Donald Trump who has repeatedly denounced prosecutions under former President Joe Biden as a “political witch hunt”.
“I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system”, he said.
Prosecutors said he “provided sensitive US Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt.
According to the prosecution, when Menendez, who had divorced his first wife began dating Nadine in 2018, she introduced him to Egyptian intelligence and military officials.
Although the information that went through was “not classified, it was deemed highly sensitive because it could pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or made public”, prosecutors said.
A corruption charge involved the bizarre case of certifying meat from the US as halal for export to Egypt.
Prosecutors said that Menendez interfered with the US Agriculture Department’s opposition to the monopoly granted to a company connected to the bribers, and Cairo let the company keep its monopoly on certifying halal meat for export.
–IANS
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