Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who is already facing charges of leveraging his political influence to favor Egypt, on Tuesday faced new charges that he abused his authority to assist the government of Qatar in exchange for expensive gifts, including luxury wristwatches valued at between $10,000 and $24,000.
Menendez’ attorney Adam Fee said on Tuesday that the Feds’ new allegations “stink of desperation.”
The prosecutors asserted that Menendez’s co-defendant, NJ real estate mogul Fred Daibes “also expected Menendez in exchange to take action to benefit the government of Qatar, and thereby benefit Daibes, who was seeking millions of dollars in investment from a fund with ties to the government of Qatar.”
The new indictment quotes Daibes, who messaged the Senator images of the watches with the caption, “How about one of these?” after the two had attended an event hosted by the Qatari government in Manhattan.
That was on September 27, 2021. According to the indictment, on September 29, Daibes conveyed a message to Menendez regarding a Senate resolution endorsing Qatar, coinciding with a Qatari Investment Company’s consideration of a real estate investment with Daibes.
The prosecutors allege that in March 2022, the Qataris offered Menendez’s wife, Nadine, tickets to the Formula One Grand Prix in Florida. By 2023, the Qatari Investment Company finalized a joint venture with Daibes, to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
The revised indictment expands the government’s accusations against the 70-year-old Senator (he just celebrated his birthday on January 1), who held a significant role as the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The charges suggest he leveraged his official position to provide favors to foreign governments in exchange for bribes, including bricks of gold and tens of thousands of dollars. In October, prosecutors alleged that Mr. Menendez, along with his wife and another defendant, Wael Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman, conspired to engage the Senator in activities on behalf of the Egyptian government without proper registration with the Justice Department.
Despite his alleged illegal ties with Arab governments, Senator Menendez has been one of Israel’s friends in Congress. In March 2017, Menendez co-sponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act which made it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria.
In May 2014, Menendez received an award for Political Courage at a gala organized by the American Friends of Likud, where he said, “Several thousands of years of history lead to an undeniable conclusion: the reestablishment of the State of Israel in modern times is a political reality with roots going back to the time of Abraham and Sarah and historical texts and artifacts.”
Good luck, Senator.
