(GoRealNewsNow.com) – BREAKING NEWS NOW: U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) finds himself confronted with a new serious crime, this time for allegedly acting as a foreign agent of Egypt, just weeks after he was hit with federal charges related to accepting lavish bribes in exchange for political influence.
According to a superseding indictment filed today, Menendez, along with his wife Nadine Arslanian and New Jersey businessman Wael “Will” Hana, is accused of conspiring to act as an agent of the Egyptian government between January 2018 and June 2022.
The indictment states, “Among other actions, Menendez provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt.”
It’s worth noting that, as a member of Congress, Menendez is legally prohibited from agreeing to act as a foreign agent, even if registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), which requires individuals acting in the U.S. as an “agent of a foreign principal” to register with the U.S. attorney general.
This law aims to prevent covert influence by foreign countries. The indictment indicates that neither Menendez’s wife nor Hana were registered under FARA.
Between 2020 and 2022, Menendez allegedly made several requests to the Justice Department to investigate others for failing to register under FARA, including an unnamed former member of Congress.
According to the indictment, Menendez wrote in a 2020 letter to the DOJ concerning the ex-congressman, “The Act is clear that acting directly or indirectly in any capacity on behalf of a foreign principal triggers the requirement to register under FARA.” In a subsequent letter sent in 2022, he emphasized, “It is imperative that the Justice Department ensure he is held to account.”
Menendez has already pleaded not guilty to three other federal charges that accuse him of accepting luxurious bribes to benefit Hana and two other New Jersey businessmen and to advance Egypt’s government.
These alleged bribes included “cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other valuable items,” as detailed in the indictment.
Likewise, his wife has also entered a not guilty plea to the three charges, which revolve around the couple’s purportedly “corrupt relationship” with the businessmen, involving accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in exchange for Menendez’s influence.
Despite facing these allegations, Menendez has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and has chosen to remain in Congress, ignoring calls from his Democratic colleagues in the Senate, including fellow New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D), who called Menendez’s decision to stay in Congress a “mistake.”
As required by Senate Democrats’ caucus rules, Menendez stepped down from his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
The indictment further alleges that Menendez leveraged his role as committee chairman to benefit the businessmen and the Egyptian government.
In one instance, he requested nonpublic, though “deemed highly sensitive,” information from the State Department regarding individuals serving at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo. He then shared this information with his then-girlfriend Nadine Arslanian, who subsequently passed it on to Hana, who in turn relayed it to an Egyptian government official.
Additionally, Menendez is accused of attempting to disrupt a criminal investigation by the state’s attorney general’s office into Jose Uribe, one of the businessmen, and trying to influence the prosecution of Fred Daibes, another businessman, according to the indictment.
Menendez had previously faced federal corruption charges in 2015 for accepting gifts and trips from a donor. However, these charges were dropped in 2018 after a jury failed to reach a verdict.
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