U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) says I have “unwavering confidence in my father” after he was indicted this morning, claiming supports outweigh the naysayers.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I have unwavering confidence in my father and his dedication to the New Jerseyans who he has relentlessly fought for in his long career as a public servant. I strongly believe in his integrity and his values, and look forward to seeing him move past this distraction to continue fighting for our state in the United States Senate,” the congressman said in a statement.
“And it must also be said that in my life, I have seen countless detractors who refuse to believe a son of immigrants from Hudson County could rise to be one of one hundred and yet he’s constantly proven them wrong. And thankfully those who know him and what he has stood for his entire career outnumber the naysayers.”
The three count indictment charges Senator Menendez and his wife with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color and official right.
They are accused of having a “corrupt relationship” with New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes. They are charged with the first two counts.
” … [The Menendezes] agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a Senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt,” the indictment says.
“Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value.”
Overall, the indictment charges that the Menendezes accepted corrupt payments for their mortgage, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C300, $486,471 in cash, another $79,760 from the safe deposit box, two one-kilogram gold bars, and 11 one-ounce gold bars.
Expectedly, Republican U.S. Senate challenger Christine Serrano Glassner is blistering “Gold Bar Bob” Menendez over the indictment, claiming she is running to “fight against this culture of corruption” embodied by the incumbent in New Jersey.
Additionally, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damien Williams said at a press conference this morning that the corruption probe into U.S. Senator Bob Menendez “is very much ongoing.”
Rob Menendez was elected to represent the 8th District in Congress by an overwhelming margin in November 2022 and theoretically could run again next June with he and his dad on the ballot at the same time.