Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was found guilty on all counts on Tuesday in his federal corruption trial.
ABC News reported:
Menendez pleaded not guilty to the 16 federal charges, which included bribery, fraud, obstruction, and acting as a foreign agent.
Until his federal indictment, he was chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The New Jersey Democrat “is the first sitting member of Congress to be charged with conspiracy by a public official to act as a foreign agent.”
Federal prosecutors claimed that Menendez had “put up his power for sale” in exchange for gold, envelopes full of cash, checks to his wife for a no-show job, and a luxury automobile. The FBI had found more than $400,000 in cash stashed in various places throughout his house.
“It wasn’t enough for him to be one of the most powerful people in Washington. Robert Menendez wanted all that power and he also wanted to use it to pile up riches for himself and his wife,” federal prosecutor Paul Monteleoni said on July 8.
Defense attorney Adam Fee claimed that the prosecutor’s case against the New Jersey Democrat was “cherry-picked nonsense” and accused prosecutors of “fudging” the facts.
“His actions were lawful, normal and good for the country,” Fee remarked.
ABC News continued:
During the trial, Menendez’s sister was asked why the senator had so much cash stuffed into his congressional jacket.
“It’s a Cuban thing,” Caridad Gonzalez said.
