I question the timing. . . Seriously, the feds have been after Menendez for a long time, and failed at least once at trial. It's easy to imagine that new indictment that come on the the heels of Merrick Garland's sad performance at the House Judiciary Committee is an attempt to convince us that DOJ is, in fact nonpartisan. Of course, it could just be a coincidence. CBS, New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and wife indicted on federal bribery charges.
The 39-page indictment claims that from roughly 2018 to 2022, Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using his power and influence as a U.S. senator to enrich and protect the three businessmen and benefit Egypt's government. Federal prosecutors in New York announced the charges during a press conference Friday morning and said the investigation is ongoing.
"As we allege in the indictment, the senator agreed to do these things and use his power in this way because Hana was paying bribes, because Uribe was paying bribes and because Daibes was paying bribes," said Damian Williams, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The bribes allegedly included cash, gold bars, mortgage payments, compensation for a "low-or-no-show-job," a luxury vehicle and "other things of value," according to the charging document.
Federal agents found more than $480,000 in cash during a search of the couple's home in June 2022, "much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe," as well as over $70,000 in a safe deposit box belonging to Nadine Menendez. They also found gold bars worth more than $100,000, according to the indictment.
So compared to the Biden's 20M and counting, this seems kind of small. The gold detail is interesting, but as you may recall, Hunter is on record accepting diamonds as 'gifts' from the Chinese. It's too bad the Menedezes didn't have a son to serve as a bag man, and turn this all into 'customary influence peddling'. Or, if they did, they chose not to involve him. Capt. Ed at Hat Hair asks Is time finally up for the Senate's "golden" boy -- and his wife? Sundance, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Indicted for Bribery and Corruption Again. According to Spencer Brown at Town Hall This Indictment Against Senator Bob Menendez Is a Real Doozy.
OK, so where was I before I was interrupted by a power failure. Oh yeah, Hat Hair, House Dem to Menendez: Get out. Manu Raju@mkraju "News — Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips tells me that Sen. Bob Menendez should resign in the face of corruption charges, becoming first Dem lawmaker to do so. “I'm appalled,” he said, adding that Dem leaders should “absolutely” push him out."John Sexton at Hat Hair, New Jersey Democrats call on Menendez to resign. Althouse notes that Menendez invokes racism, "It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I am not going anywhere." "Said Senator Robert Menendez, quoted in "Gold Bullion and Halal Meat: Inside the Menendez Investigation/Federal prosecutors have accused Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine, of accepting bribes in exchange for official actions by Mr. Menendez" (NYT)."
And to put the cherry on top, there's a tie to the Hunter Biden story. Cutie Pavlich at Town Hall, Hunter Biden Has Entered the Bob Menendez Indictment. House Republicans@HouseGOP, "When an aide to Senator Robert Menendez requested that then VP-Biden host the U.S.-Spain Council's 2010 annual meeting at his official Naval Observatory residence in Washington DC, he contacted Hunter Biden's business partner rather than Joe's White House office." At Twitchy, 'Well well well'! Look who a Menendez aide emailed to request a meeting at then VP Biden's residence. Ace, When Bob Menendez' Aide Wanted to Meet With Vice President Biden, Who Do You Think He Emailed to Arrange The Sit-Down? "He contacted Hunter Biden's business partner/fixer Eric Schwerin. Weird how these corrupt bagmen people all have each other on speed-dial. And even stranger: The way to get a meeting with Joe Biden is not to go through his well-staffed office, but through secret back-channels involving his bagman son." Capt. Ed, "That is rather interesting — and it happened in 2010, much earlier than other evidence in the Biden Inc corruption timeline. Menendez served with Biden in the Senate for two years before Biden became VP, don’t forget, and had been in the House since 1993. Why would Menendez have to go through Eric Schwerin?"
At WaEx, Third IRS official says Justice Department blocked Weiss from charging in the Hunter Biden investigation. Capt. Ed notes "There’s more, too. Apparently Weiss’ team had far more negotiations with Hunter’s team than is usual in tax evasion investigations, according to Michael Batdorf. He won’t attribute that to political influence, but he does say that the DoJ’s handling of this case was significantly unusual." Ace, Agents Say That the Feds Deliberately Tanked Any Investigation Into Biden's 2020 Campaign "There were possible "criminal violations" committed by Biden's 2020 campaign. Merrick Garland's DOJ made sure there was no investigation." James Lynch at Da Caller, These Were Republicans’ Biggest Missed Opportunities From Merrick Garland’s Testimony. Matt Vespa at Town Hall is amused when Ex-NYT Reporter Flees Podcast After Being Asked About Hunter Biden Reporting, James Risen.
Bob Spencer at PJM, Dementia or Disrespect? You’ll Never Believe What Biden Did When He Met with Netanyahu. Made the sign of the cross. Ace, Pool Report Embarrasses Biden By Reporting What He Really Said. "I don't mean a report about him swimming naked in his pool in front of his female Secret Service staff. I mean the press pool report, where one reporter dashes off a report about an event and all other reporters are permitted to quote that. From Beege Wellborn, an embarrassing anecdote, reported accurately." Matt Margolis at PJM says If You Think Joe Biden Will Make It Much Longer, Read This. "Have you noticed that the time in between embarrassing moments for Joe Biden seems to be getting shorter and shorter?" At Da Caller, Biden Lays A Booby Trap For The Next Republican President. John Sexton noticed Joe Biden will join a UAW picket line, after Trump visits striking autoworkers. Althouse, "Tuesday, I’ll go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and women of UAW as they fight for a fair share of the value they helped create." "a Politico article from last Tuesday, "'Trump scooped us': Dems sound alarm on Biden’s handling of the auto worker strike/Donald Trump’s decision to head to Detroit for a speech next week is setting off alarms among some Joe Biden allies."
At the Conservative Brief, Federal Judge Blocks Biden Admin’s Attempt to Scale Back Oil, Gas Drilling In Gulf of Mexico. Capt. Ed comments "It’s a good step in the right direction, but a temporary one. And Judge Cain is correct — this IS a weaponization of the regulatory state, an approach that Biden has enthusiastically embraced in order to rule as an authoritarian rather than govern under the rule of law." Hat Hair's Beege Wellborn snarks "Bidenomics is bitchin'" update: Federal Reserve has first lay-offs in 13 years. "These cutbacks are mostly tech jobs according to the announced plans, so “learn to code” advice isn’t going to be appropriate." Breitbart, Hispanics Running Away from Democrats, Bidenomics Making Things Even Worse. The Babylon Bee has 8 Meals Every Family Can Afford Under Bidenomics "5. Lightly used sushi purchased on Facebook Marketplace: It's just as good now as it was when it was made a week ago!"
Never-anybody-but-Trump sundance at CTH gloats The Lame Duck Period Begins – Florida Republicans Move Away from DeSantis, as Failed Campaign Will Return Him to State.
Da Fed's Shawn Fleetwood is pleased when a Federal Court Chides Dem Activists: There’s Nothing Racist About Election Integrity Laws Like Florida’s, also, reports a Lawsuit that Democrats’ No-Excuse Absentee Voting Law Violates New York Constitution.
Althouse, "It’s a really hard argument in normal circumstances to say the government, who is prosecuting someone, can shut them up from defending themselves in public." ""What makes this backward from everything else is that normally, in every criminal prosecution I can think of, the power imbalance is that the state has all the power and the defendant has none. But in this case, you have a defendant who has very significant power." Says lawprof Margaret C. Tarkington, quoted in "Push to Gag Trump Pits Free Speech Against Risk of Violence/By putting threats to the judge and prosecutors at the heart of its argument to limit the former president’s statements about the election case, the Justice Department raised issues with little precedent" (NYT)." As is often the case, the fun is in the comments.
Capt. Ed is horrified that in New FOIA docs DHS claimed authority to regulate public discussions of COVID, "racial justice," Ukraine, and "irregular immigration" "The inclusion of Afghanistan on this list, which has been previously reported, is the clearest indicator that the DGB’s true purpose was to quash dissent and criticism of the Biden administration." Sundance, Russell Brand Issues Statement After British Govt Target Him for Removal from Social Media Platforms. I haven't been on this story too much, but it became much bigger when the Brits targeted him for censorship with no due process.
At Da Blaze, First trans NFL cheerleader hopes to influence youth: 'I’m setting things up for the younger generation'. From Da Signal, Confirmed: Man Who Raped His 10-Year-Old Daughter Housed With Female Prison Inmates. Reason is not convinced by a Federal Judge who Declines To Stop Drag Show Ban at Texas College. "The judge ruled that drag performances are not inherently expressive and that schools could regulate "vulgar and lewd" conduct." Beege Wellborn thinks SecEd Cardona needs remediation on "parents" definition. Citizen Free Press@CitizenFreePres, "Secretary of Education Cardona doesn't respect American parents concerned with radical gender ideology being taught in the schools: “I don’t have too much respect for people that are misbehaving in public and acting like they know what’s right for kids.” At Da Fed, Rebeka Zelkjo sees that In Leaked Video, Veterans’ Affairs Tells Providers To Promote Abortion, Avoid Saying ‘Mother’ And ‘Baby’.
Hat Hair's Dave Strom, Government TV: commit crimes for Gaia, "Britain’s Channel 4, which is a state-owned television/content network owned by the British government, is pushing a program with the message that the time has come for violent action to deal with climate change." Chris Packham@ChrisGPackham "Personally , I've now reached a point where I believe breaking the law for the climate is the ethically responsible thing to do ."
Linked at Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.
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