by Nikita Biryukov, New Jersey Monitor
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez again denied criminal charges that claim he accepted lavish bribes in exchange for his intercession in criminal prosecutions and on behalf of two foreign nations, saying in a speech to the U.S. Senate Tuesday that he is the victim of a prosecutorial vendetta.
Menendez, a Democrat, also unveiled a new defense that appeared tailored to his congressional colleagues, arguing allegations against him that claim he acted as a foreign agent risk exposing other members of Congress to criminal prosecution even in the absence of wrongdoing.
“For the government, the sky is the limit if they want to pursue you,” he said.
Menendez has been accused of accepting cash, gold bars, jewelry, furniture, and a Mercedes Benz to use his position in the Senate — and as former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — to secure aid for three North Jersey businessmen and the nations of Egypt and Qatar.
The allegations about Qatar were first revealed in a superseding indictment federal prosecutors unveiled last week. Tuesday represents Menendez’s first public remarks about them.
“I have received nothing — absolutely nothing — from the government of Qatar or on behalf of the government of Qatar to promote their image or their issues,” Menendez said during a 20-minute-long speech that ended with the senator choking back tears.
In the new indictment, federal prosecutors allege Menendez received cash, gold, Formula One Grand Prix tickets, and a luxury watch in exchange for aiding Fred Daibes, one of the businessmen and a co-defendant, secure a development deal with a member of Qatar’s royal family.
They charge the senator prescreened press releases with a Qatari investor and a Qatari government official, citing encrypted messages between Menendez and Daibes.
Menendez denied impropriety Tuesday, arguing the press release — what prosecutors said was one of numerous statements favorable to Qatar’s government — was made in the regular course of his duties and numbered among other statements on the same, including some less flattering of the Middle Eastern nation.
“I have criticized Qatar, as I have any other country, when I felt they were falling short of their international obligations and applauded them when they led in ways the United States and the world would commend,” Menendez said. “That give and take, that carrot and stick, that cajoling and rewarding is the essence of diplomacy.”
He said Nadine Menendez, the senator’s wife and another co-defendant, had purchased her own Formula One ticket, and he denied ever receiving a luxury watch from Daibes. Prosecutors say Daibes asked the senator “How about one of those” in an encrypted message showing several luxury watches sent shortly after the two attended an event hosted by the Qatari government.
On Tuesday Menendez said the Foreign Agents Restriction Act, under which he is charged, is too broad to be applied to members of Congress who engage with foreign governments as part of their duties.
“What if (in) any of these examples that country bought sugar or rice or meat from your state? What if that country purchased Boeing aircraft made in your state? Would that be a quid pro quo? What if you got contributions to your campaign from U.S. entities or individuals associated with those countries? Would that be a quid pro quo?” he said.
Menendez was first indicted on his current charges in September, and federal prosecutors filed an initial superseding indictment in October.
He has chafed at the loss of support he has received from some of his Senate colleagues — including New Jersey’s junior senator, Sen. Cory Booker — and many New Jersey Democrats who have called for his resignation.
Menendez’s term expires next year and he has not said whether he intends to seek reelection this year.
Progressive challenger Lisa McCormick took four of ten votes away from the incumbent in the 2018 Democratic primary but he sailed to a third term in the Senate crushing Republican Bob Hugin, who spent $36 million of his own money on the race.