Menendez: I’m still innocent
N.J. senator pleads not guilty to new obstruction charges
New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez pleaded not guilty to new obstruction charges on Monday in his Manhattan bribery case.
At a brief Manhattan Federal Court hearing, the Garden State Democrat; his wife, Nadine Menendez, and two New Jersey businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, entered pleas of not guilty to new charges prosecutors filed last week alleging they sought to cover up a bribery scheme.
Judge Sidney Stein also denied a defense motion to postpone the trial, which is scheduled to begin in less than 10 weeks. It’s expected to last for about two months.
The senator is set to stand trial May 6 on 18 bribery and obstruction charges, in part alleging he conspired to act as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government in his powerful role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and abused his position to advance Qatari interests in exchange for gold bullion bars, flashy watches and Formula 1 tickets. He denies all allegations.
Menendez was charged last week with new offenses, alleging he relayed bogus information to the feds by falsely claiming that thousands of dollars paid to his wife toward a sports car and mortgage payments weren’t bribes intended to solicit his help thwarting criminal investigations, but loans.
The charges filed last week came days after Jose Uribe, one of the men indicted alongside Menendez and his wife last fall, pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud, obstruction and related counts in a prosecution agreement. Per the terms of the deal, Uribe is expected to testify at the trial.
On March 1, Uribe said he agreed with
Menendez’s wife and several others to provide her with a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for her husband “using his power and influence” to stop all investigations related to two associates. “I knew that giving a car in return for influencing a United States senator to stop a criminal investigation was wrong, and I deeply regret my actions.”
Uribe told the court that after receiving a subpoena, he met with the senator’s wife to discuss a cover story to tell the feds.
“She asked what was I going to say if somebody asked me about the car payments. I told her that I would say a good friend of mine was in a financial situation and I was helping that friend to make the payments on the car, and when she was financially stable, she will pay me back. Nadine says something like, that sounds good,” Uribe said. “Later in time, I told the same story to my attorneys at the time, and they transmitted that false story to the United States [attorney’s] office in New York with my approval.”
Menendez, who had no comment Monday, repeated in a recent statement that he believed the payments were loans.
“Today’s superseding indictment is a flagrant abuse of power. The government has long known that I learned of and helped repay loans — not bribes — that had been provided to my wife,” Menendez said. “I am innocent and will prove it no matter how many charges they continue to pile on.”
The 70-year-old senator resigned from his Senate Foreign Relations Committee role after facing charges but has refused to leave office. He’s the first sitting congressman charged with conspiring to act as a foreign agent as a public official.
A spokesman for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to comment.