22 minutes agoAfter corruption charges, Senator Menandez refuses to resign
Periskopi(3 years ago)
(3 years ago)Senator Bob Menandez has temporarily left the post of Senate Commission on Foreign Relations, but has refused to resign as Senator, despite request by the governor of New Jersey, a state representing in the Senate, Mr. Menandez. The Senator's possible resignation, against which a criminal indictment was filed for bribery [...]
Senator Bob Menandez has temporarily left the post of Senate Commission on Foreign Relations, but has refused to resign as Senator, despite request by the governor of New Jersey, a state representing in the Senate, Mr. Menandez. The senator's possible resignation, against which a criminal indictment was filed for bribery by a New York prosecutor, could complicate the democratic efforts to preserve the weak majority in the Senate.
Senator Democrat Bob Menandez will not resign, rejecting the request of New Jersey's Democrat governor, Phil Murphy.
The “those that are presented as facts are so serious that they risk Senator Menandez's ability to effectively represent the people of our state”, Governor Murphy said, who has the right to choose a temporary replacement if Mr. Menandez would leave.
Mr. Murphy is not the only democratic official who called on Senator Menandez to resign. However, in the first statement since the establishment of charges by federal prosecutor Damian Williams in Manhattan, Senator Menandez made it clear that he would not leave the senator's post.
I'm aware how fast some are rushing to judge a Latino and get him out of his position. I'm not going anywhere”, He said in a statement Friday night.
However, according to the majority Democrat leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, domestic party rules force Mr. Menandez to temporarily leave the post of Senate Commission on Foreign Relations until the issue is resolved against him.
On Friday, prosecutor Williams confirmed the indictment against Mr. Menandez, his wife, Nadine and three businessmen from New Jersey, detailed what was found in the home of the American senator.
The FBI's “Agents discovered about $500,000 in envelopes and cabinets. Part of the money was found in Senator's jacket pockets. The fingerprints of one of the businessmen charged were found in some of the cash envelopes. The agents also discovered much gold provided by businessmen Fred Daibes and Wael Hannah. The FBI also found the Mercedes the third accused businessman, Jose Uribe, gave them”, Attorney Williams explained.
According to the Manhattan Prosecutor's Office, the senator and his wife are accused of accepting thousands of dollars in bribery in exchange for the use of power and influence of Mr. Menandez as senator, to offer protection, as well as benefits to businessmen and the Egyptian government.
News agencies have rushed to publish photos and videos from previous meetings with Egyptian officials, such as images from the US Senator's meeting with Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Schooky in Cairo on October 14, 2021.
The reason for this is that prosecutors said businessman Wael Hana, originally from Egypt, organised from 2018, dinners and meetings between Mr. Menandez and Egyptian officials, during which officials urged Mr. Menandez to provide information on the issue of the United States military aid issue for Egypt.
In exchange, according to prosecutors, Mr. Hannah put Nadine Menandez on the payroll of his company's employees.
“S first, the indictment claims Senator Menandez used his power and influence, including the leading role of the Senate's Foreign Relations Commission, to benefit from Egypt's government in various ways. Among other actions, Senator Menandez allegedly offered Egyptian officials sensitive, non-public American government information and has taken steps to help the Egyptian government secretly”, Said prosecutor Damian Williams, among other things.
Mr. Menandez, who is exercising his third mandate, has said he plans to seek re-election next year.
The investigation could complicate the Democrats' efforts to expand their small majority of only two votes more than the republican opponents in the 100-member Senate.
The Cuban-born senator has been the strongest democratic opponent to President Biden's policies to ease his stance on Cuba and Venezuela.
He has also been one of the most vocal critics in the Senate towards Saudi Arabia and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, especially for major arms deals for the kingdom. / VOA/
