Trending
NEW YORK -- U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez used his international clout to help a friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund, partly by taking actions favorable to Qatar's government, federal prosecutors said Tuesday in a revised indictment.
The new allegations deepen the legal challenges for Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, who already was charged with wielding his political influence to secretly advance Egypt's interests.
The superseding indictment in New York said the senator and his wife accepted bribes of gold bars and cash from New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes as a reward for several corrupt acts that included his help securing a major investment from the Qatari fund.
Prosecutors said Menendez introduced Daibes to a member of Qatar's royal family who was also a principal in the investment firm, met personally with Qatari officials and made public statements supportive of Qatar while the real estate deal was being negotiated.
The indictment said the Qatari investor eventually invested tens of millions of dollars in Daibes' development project, in a deal finalized in 2023.
Adam Fee, a lawyer for Menendez, said in a statement that prosecutors lacked proof of any wrongdoing.
"What they have instead is a string of baseless assumptions and bizarre conjectures based on routine, lawful contacts between a Senator and his constituents or foreign officials. They are turning this into a persecution, not a prosecution," he said.
"At all times, Senator Menendez acted entirely appropriately with respect to Qatar, Egypt, and the many other countries he routinely interacts with. Those interactions were always based on his professional judgment as to the best interests of the United States because he is, and always has been, a patriot."
Tim Donohue, a lawyer for Daibes, said he had no immediate comment.
The indictment did not identify the member of the Qatari royal family involved. Messages left with Qatar's consulate in New York and with its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority, were not immediately returned.
No new charges were added to the latest version of an indictment that already charged Menendez in a bribery conspiracy that allegedly enriched the senator and his wife with a luxury car besides the cash and gold. The allegations involving Qatar occurred from 2021 through 2023.
Other parts of the indictment accuse Menendez, 70, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, of taking bribes from two other New Jersey businessmen besides Daibes. All have pleaded not guilty.
Among other things, Menendez is accused of ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in aid to Egypt.
After his September arrest, the senator gave up his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has resisted calls for him to resign from his Senate seat.
The indictment contains new details about the relationship between Menendez and Daibes, a powerful New Jersey real estate developer.
Daibes has been credited with building out a string of luxury waterfront buildings, known as the "gold coast," in the New Jersey town of Edgewater.