U.S. prosecutors allege Sen. Bob Menendez used his position to benefit Qatar

A federal grand jury has filed a second superseding indictment against Sen. Bob Menendez. The New Jersey senator, who was already accused of using his political position to help Egypt, now faces a new charge of accepting bribes to use his position to help the government of Qatar.

In the latest indictment, Menendez was charged with accepting bribes from Fred Daibes, a co-defendant in the bribery charges, in exchange for the senator’s help in securing financial backing from a fund with ties to the Qatari government.

According to the 50-page indictment, the Qatari company struck a deal to invest with Daibes after a May 2022 meeting. Allegedly, Daibes gave Menendez “at least one gold bar” afterward.

“When he accepted at least certain of those things of value,” prosecutors wrote, Daibes “also expected Menendez in exchange to take action to benefit the government of Qatar, and thereby benefit Daibes, who was seeking millions of dollars in investment from a fund with ties to the government of Qatar.”

The indictment alleges that Menendez ”made multiple public statements supporting the government of Qatar,” which he first sent to Daibes “so that (he) could share them with the Qatari Investor.” After attending a private event hosted by the Qatari government, Daibes allegedly sent Menendez screenshots of watches valued between approximately $10,000 and $24,000, asking, “How about one of these?”

Menendez allegedly made his now infamous Google search asking “how much is a kilo of gold worth” after being picked up from the airport by Daibes’ driver following a trip to Qatar. The September indictment revealed that over $100,000 worth of gold bars were found in the home of Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, also indicted on bribery charges. Tuesday’s indictment noted a search warrant of Menendez’s home in 2022 turned up “two one-kilogram gold bars and nine one-ounce gold bars that had serial number indicating they had previously been possessed” by Daibes.

Menendez already faces charges of bribery and conspiring to act as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt. Many in his party have called for his resignation, but he continues to remain defiant, claiming innocence. His first trial is set to begin in May.

Menendez, who is up for potential reelection this year, has not said whether he will run again or not. Even if he does, he has two primary challengers: Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., and New Jersey’s first lady Tammy Murphy.

Internal polling released by Kim’s campaign gives him 45% to Murphy’s 22% among likely primary voters. Menendez was at 3%.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., has been calling for Menendez to resign for months, and said in October if he won’t resign, he should be expelled. In early December, Fetterman trolled Menendez by hiring the ousted George Santos to record a video giving the embattled New Jersey senator some advice.

“I thought my ethically-challenged colleague @senatormenendez could use some encouragement given his substantial legal problems,” Fetterman said of the video he commissioned. “So, I approached a seasoned expert on the matter to give ‘Bobby from Jersey’ some advice.”

In the video posted on Instagram and X, Santos says, “Hey, Bobby! Look, I don’t think I need to tell you, but: These people that want to make you get in trouble and want to kick you out and make you run away — you make them put up or shut up. You stand your ground, sir, and don’t get bogged down by all the haters out there. Stay strong. Merry Christmas!”

Of the latest allegations, Menendez’s attorney Adam Fee said they were “a string of baseless assumptions and bizarre conjectures” based on routine contacts Menendez had with officials and constituents, reports Politico.

Fee added, “These new allegations don’t change a thing, and their theories won’t survive the scrutiny of the court or a jury.”

Holly Richardson is the editor of Utah Policy.