New Jersey  , Sen.  , Robert Menendez , “put his strength up for sale” by accepting bribes in exchange for using his status as president of the , Senate Foreign Relations Committee , to benefit , Egypt , and , Qatar , and to influence criminal investigations, lawyers said in closing arguments in his trial on Monday.
” You heard all the evidence”, Assistant , U. S.  , Attorney , Paul Monteleoni , said as he summarized the prosecution’s case at the end of the , two-month-long test. You’ve heard about how a sitting, U.S. senator extorted hundreds of thousands of dollars in money from two entrepreneurs to protect themselves from anyone and everyone who may interfere with them.
The event is , large and complex, spanning a knot of , dark business deals, Formula 1 bribes , and a kosher monopoly. Monteleoni asked the judge to hone in on the” distinct pattern of problem” of the legislator and his two co-defendants, walking them through the features of the case with a drop display.
” It was n’t enough for him to be one of the most powerful people in Washington”, Monteleoni said.
Federal prosecutors at the , Southern District , of , New York , allege Menendez and his family,  , Nadine Menendez, were linked in a corruption scheme with N. J. businessmen , Wael Hana , and , Fred Daibes , in which the legislator and his spouse , accepted silver bars, a Mercedes-Benz and” sham” payments in exchange for intervening in legal cases, pressuring a , USDA , executive to give a co-defendant’s company an exclusive monopoly on kosher imports from the , U. S.  , to , Egypt, and backing military profits and financing for the country.
Menendez and Hana and Daibes are also facing charges. In order to give her time to recuperate from breast cancer, Nadine’s test was postponed.
During a , 2022 raid, federal agents found , more than$ 480, 000 in cash stuffed in closets, jacket pockets and old boots, and more than$ 100, 000 worth of gold bars, according to court documents.
The troubled president’s doctors have pinned most of the responsible on , Nadine Menendez, who married him in 2020 — arguing that she misled him about her monetary troubles and the help she asked for from the entrepreneurs. Additionally, they claimed that his Cuban heritage led to the abundance of cash lying around his home.
Monteleoni pushed back on the idea that Menendez, 70, was duped by his wife throughout his closing statement, reaffirming the senator’s involvement in each alleged crime.
” You do n’t get to be chairman of the , Senate Foreign Relations Committee , by being clueless”, the attorney said, highlighting an example of a time his wife did withhold information from him, but he pestered and complained to her about not telling him what was going on.
The attorney also made reference to Menendez and others ‘ cryptic language, which they said would” the perfect amount of deniability” their plot.
After a meeting with one of the co-defendants in the case, Monteleoni, said Menendez had been searching for gold bars on numerous occasions.
” It’s not a coincidence”, the prosecutor said. ” It’s a bribe”.
Monteleoni’s intent speech was closely observed by the jury, who took note of it. Menendez also looked on, taking notes.
His daughter,  , MSNBC , anchor , Alicia Menendez, was present in court.
Menendez was charged with new obstruction in March after pleading falsely to the feds and claiming through his attorneys that thousands of dollars in bribes were loans.
He faces a total of 18 bribery and obstruction charges.
The prosecution is scheduled to resume its summations on Wednesday, which is scheduled to end after about two and a half more hours, followed by Menendez’s and two of her co-defendants ‘ attorneys.
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