U.S. Senator Menendez Found Guilty on 16 Counts by Federal Jury

U.S. Senator Menendez Found Guilty on 16 Counts by Federal Jury

United States Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) was convicted on all counts by a federal jury on Tuesday.

 

The government proved that the Senator ran a scheme to sell his office to foreign powers and crooked businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car, and bars of solid gold.

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A jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted him on charges including honest services wire fraud, bribery, and extortion — 16 counts in all.

 

The verdict is historic —  Menendez is the seventh sitting U.S. senator to be convicted of a federal crime.

 

Mendez was found guilty of all 16 criminal counts he faced, including bribery, fraud and illegal foreign-agent offenses.  

 

“Federal prosecutors charged him with pocketing bribes in exchange for taking official actions to benefit three New Jersey businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. During the nearly two-month trial, prosecution witnesses, including one of the businessmen who cooperated, painted a damning portrait of a crooked politician who hashed out illegal deals over cigars, ritzy dinners and bottles of wine. Jurors also got to hold a gold bar that prosecutors said was a bribe,” reports the Wall Street Journal.”