Democrat Senator Accused Of Accepting Bribes To Benefit Qatar

(DailyVantage.com) – Corruption and bribery charges continue to hound Democratic New Jersey Senator Robert “Bob” Menendez, as the Justice Department has filed a superseding indictment against him for allegedly accepting bribes to help benefit Qatar.

Menendez was previously accused of accepting bribes in order to benefit the Egyptian government and was subsequently slapped with a federal lawsuit for allegedly illegally acting as a foreign agent. He was accused of accepting luxury vehicles, such as a Mercedez-Benz, as well as gold bars and as much as $480,000 in cash in exchange for his services. Menendez is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a position prosecutors say he used to enrich himself.

According to the charges filed by the Justice Department, Menendez enacted his corruption scheme beginning in 2021 and continuing until 2023. The new charges claim that the senator lobbied on behalf of Qatar in order for a New Jersey-based developer to secure an investment deal from a Qatar-based company worth millions of dollars. The Justice Department has also charged the said developer, Fred Daibes.

The indictment also contains copies of text messages between Menendez and Daibes, including those sent on an encrypted app, that show Daibes sending the senator photos of luxury watches valued anywhere from $9,990 to $23,990 and asking Menendez, “How about one of those?” Prosecutors also say Menendez did research on the worth of gold after taking a trip to Qatar.

Menendez’ wife, Nadine Menendez, is also named as a defendant, as are two other businessmen from New Jersey. All the defendants have pleaded not guilty, and their trial is scheduled to begin in May. Senator Menendez has also repeatedly and strongly denied the accusations against him and has also brushed aside calls for him to resign—including those coming from fellow Democrats—from his post in the Senate.

Menendez also figured in another corruption scandal in 2017 involving lavish trips and campaign donations from an ophthalmologist in Florida. The case ended in a mistrial.