A New Jersey businessman told a jury at the New Jersey Democratic Party meeting on Friday that he bribed Sen. Bob Menendez. bribery trial He said that he gave a “Mercedes” to the deputy’s wife in exchange for his reputation.
Jose Uribe, who pleaded guilty in March and was asked on the witness stand who he cooperated with and bribed. Uribe told the jury he bribed Menendez and conspired with another businessman, Vael Hana. Uribe also said that the senator’s wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted bribes from him. The senator, his wife and Hana pleaded not guilty. A third businessman, Fred Daibes, also pleaded not guilty.
Menendez and his wife are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes — some are in the form of gold bars — In exchange for Menendez’s official acts as senator.
Prosecutors, Nadine Menendez stated that he bought a car, Uribe asked for help from the senator, he said. stop the criminal investigation From the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office to its staff. According to prosecutors, Bob Menendez called then New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal to discuss the matter.
Grewal, who currently heads the Securities and Exchange Commission, testified on Thursday He said Menendez’s attempts to discuss a specific ongoing criminal case were “unprecedented in my experience.”
Menendez is also accused of accepting bribes in favor of the Egyptian government.
“The truth will come out next week,” Menendez said as he left court on Friday.
A spokesman for Menendez declined to comment on matters related to the lawsuit. An attorney for the senator did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
Menendez is on trial with Hana and Daibes. Nadine Menendez’s trial took place postponed until at least July after recent treatment for breast cancer.
NBC News previously reported Menendez may testify that his wife withheld information from him.
Assistant US Attorney Lara Pomerantz had argued At the start of his trial in New York last month before a panel of 12 jurors and six attorneys, the New Jersey Democrat abused his position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to “put greed first” and referred to the senior senator as both. “powerful” and “corrupt”.
Pomerantz also reviewed Uribe’s testimony early in the trial, saying Uribe would offer jurors an “insider view” of the scheme.
In the defense’s opening statement, Menendez’s attorney, Ari Weitzman, said his client had not broken the law.
“There won’t be a single material proof that the senator took a bribe. There’s an innocent explanation for gold and cash,” Weitzman said.
Menendez has served in the Senate since 2006. He resigned as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee shortly after he was indicted in September, but resisted. calls for resignation.
Menendez previously faced federal charges He was charged in 2015 By illegally accepting favors from a Florida eye doctor, claims he denies. The case ended with a mistrial, with jurors failing to reach a unanimous verdict and prosecutors failing to seek a retrial.