Bob Menendez Indicted for Taking Bribes From Yet Another Country
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is on the hook again—this time for taking bribes from Qatar.
A superseding indictment, filed in a New York district court on Tuesday, accuses Menendez of waxing poetic about Qatar in an attempt to help a New Jersey real estate tycoon, Fred Daibes, secure a multimillion dollar investment from an investment company tied to the Middle Eastern country, collecting lavish gifts in exchange for his handiwork. The charging documents include screenshots of messages between Menendez and Daibes, sending links to watches valued between $9,990 to $23,990 to the New Jersey politician along with the message, “How about one of these?”
After the politician returned from one of his trips to Qatar, Menendez googled “how much is one kilo of gold worth,” according to the indictment.
It’s the third time the Senate Foreign Relations Committee member has been charged with corruption in the last decade.
Menendez was previously indicted in September on corruption-related offenses, in which he was accused of taking $480,000 in cash, numerous gold bars, and “luxury vehicles” from Egyptian officials in exchange for favors that included sending aid to the Egyptian military and pressuring the Department of Agriculture to protect a business monopoly in the country.
“Over $480,000 in cash—much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe—was discovered in the home,” according to the September indictment.
In 2017, Menendez was investigated after he was accused of taking campaign donations and lavish trips from a south Florida ophthalmologist. That case ultimately ended in a mistrial after the jury voted 10-2 to acquit the New Jersey congressman.