For a years-long bribery and corruption plot that saw him rewarded with gold bars and piles of cash, a court on Wednesday sentenced an emotional former senator, Bob Menendez, to 11 years in prison.
Twice, Menendez had sobbed as he begged U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein for mercy.
After describing acts he claimed to have done to assist people while serving in the Senate—a position he was forced to leave following his conviction—the Democrat from New Jersey declared, “I have lost everything.”
Menendez, who chaired the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee when he accepted the payoffs, claimed that “every day I am awake is a punishment for a man who spent his entire life in public service.”
The judge seemed unimpressed, stating that although he had accomplished some good work, the evidence against him was “overwhelming” and that he had let the people of New Jersey down.
Before delivering his sentence, Stein said, “Somewhere along the way you became, I’m sorry to say, a corrupt politician.”
In order to attend his wife’s and co-defendant Nadine Menendez’s trial, the judge said he would not have to start serving his sentence until June 6. “I want him to be able to be present for his wife,” Stein stated.
Prosecutors had suggested a 15-year sentence for Menendez, which his lawyers deemed harsh and vindictive, as well as a life term and death penalty for the 71-year-old former head of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Prosecutors accused Menendez of accepting bribes, including cash and gold bars, to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar, and he was found guilty in July of extortion, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and operating as a foreign agent.
Additionally, two co-defendants were convicted guilty and given sentences of several years in prison on Wednesday.
Menendez entered a not guilty plea and promised to challenge the verdict. According to NBC News, he has also been requesting a pardon from President Donald Trump after failing to obtain one from former President Joe Biden.
When Menendez left court without apologizing, he said he was the target of a “political witch hunt.” “The president was correct. This procedure is fundamentally corrupt and politicized. According to Menendez, a lifelong Democrat who supported Trump’s conviction in both of his impeachment proceedings, “I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity of the system.”
Menendez’s lawyers had urged with Stein in court documents to spare him jail time, arguing that he had already received enough punishment and citing a letter from the Senate in August.
“Senator Menendez’s finances and reputation have been ruined, perhaps for the rest of his life, and he has experienced tremendous public disgrace and turmoil. They contended in a court filing that he is the target of late-night talk show jokes and that his name will go down in history as the first politician ever found guilty of being a foreign agent.
“He will live the rest of his days a social and political pariah, whether inside or outside of jail,” they stated.
Additionally, Menendez’s attorneys argued that there was no proof that “any of the acts alleged by the government harmed anyone” and that the judge ought to be lenient due to his “lifetime of good deeds,” which included his work in the Senate.
Adam Fee, Menendez’s lawyer, changed his proposal after the judge sentenced Menendez’ co-defendants to lengthy jail terms on Wednesday. He requested the judge to sentence his client to eight years in prison, which would allow him to serve his time in a minimal security facility. According to Fee, a sentence of more than ten years would eliminate that choice.
“A sentence of above 8 years would be disproportionate to the offense and inappropriate,” he said.
Given his position of authority and the blatantness of the plan, prosecutors contended that a significant prison term was required.
“Menendez’s actions might be the most egregious conviction of a U.S. Senator in the Republic’s history. The majority of the senators involved in bribery accepted sums that are a small portion of what Menendez received, according to their sentencing document. Very few senators have even been found guilty of any criminal wrongdoing.
“Being a senator ought to have been a reward in and of itself. It would be if Menendez wasn’t corrupt. Menendez doesn’t deserve any recognition for it,” they continued.
The U.S. attorney’s office in New York conducted a protracted investigation before indicting Menendez, his wife Nadine, and three New Jersey businessmen in 2023.
In exchange for the senator acting in ways that benefited them and the governments of Qatar and Egypt, the businessmen allegedly paid bribes to Menendez and his wife, according to the prosecution. These bribes, according to prosecutors, included gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz that was delivered to Nadine Menendez, and over $480,000 in cash that the FBI discovered hidden into closets, jackets with Menendez’s name on them, and other items of apparel during a 2022 search of his New Jersey home.
Alongside Menendez, two of those businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were put on trial and found guilty on all counts. On Wednesday, they were also condemned.
Daibes appeared before the judge first, and Stein gave him a sentence of 84 months, which was roughly two years shorter than what the government had requested. A $1.75 million fine was also imposed on him for what the judge described as his “very serious crimes.”
Stein fined Hana $1.25 million and sentenced him to 97 months in prison, which was roughly two years shorter than the prosecutors had requested. The judge cited “substantial” evidence that the businessman, who had assets worth over $30 million, “committed bribery.”
Jose Uribe, the third businessman, testified for the prosecution during the nine-week trial and entered a guilty plea. Later this year, he will receive his punishment.
In order to give Nadine Menendez more time to receive cancer treatments, her trial was postponed until March.
The senator refrained from testifying in support of himself. His defense contended that the government had not demonstrated that the gold bars or cash were offered as bribes and that he was working on behalf of his people.
In a court petition on Tuesday, his lawyers contended that the judge need to postpone the sentence’s execution in order to allow him to challenge the conviction. Questions over whether some of his actions were shielded by the U.S. Constitution’s speech and debate clause—which grants members of Congress immunity for acts related to their legislative work—are among the grounds for an appeal, according to the motion.
Keeping Menendez out of jail while he appeals, according to the filing, will also enable him to assist “his wife during her pre-operative and post-operative care, during which she will need considerable help and have no other family member available.”
It stated that “there is no risk that Senator Menendez will commit further crimes, and he intends to vindicate himself and restore his reputation on appeal.”
Menendez had served in the Senate for eighteen years, and this case was his second corruption trial. The Justice Department later dropped the charges against him after the last one ended in a hung jury in 2017.
In another instance, Menendez had similarly denied any misconduct. In 2018, a Senate Ethics Committee looked into the claims and ruled that Menendez had violated federal law and Senate rules by taking gifts from a Florida eye specialist and not disclosing them. The committee also issued a rare public reprimand to Menendez.
At his sentence, prosecutors asked the judge to take in mind that the gold bar plan began shortly after the Ethics Committee’s report was published.
“Menendez s willingness to engage in the charged scheme immediately after receiving a formal admonition for such similar conduct speaks volumes about his character,” they stated.
Prosecutors claim that only 12 previous U.S. senators have faced criminal charges during their time in the Senate, and only four of those prosecutions have led to convictions.