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☆ 'Monsters' season two tells the story of the Menendez brothers, who murdered their parents. Here's where Lyle and Erik are now.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Ayomikun Adekaiyero | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Read previewRyan Murphy's Emmy-winning Netflix series "Monster" is back, and this time it's about the case of Lyle and Erik Menendez. Lyle and Erik Menendez are serving life sentences in the same prisonLyle and Erik Menendez during their trial in 1994. Lyle and Erik Menendez are both marriedErik Menendez's wife, Tammi Menendez, in 1999. Related storiesThat included a letter Erik Menendez wrote and addressed to his cousin Andy Cano, who died in 2003. "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" is available to stream on Netflix.

Persons: —, Ryan, Lyle, Erik Menendez, Jeffrey Dahmer, Murphy, Ian Brennan, Menendez, José Menendez, Kitty Menendez, Ted Soqui, — Lyle Menendez, Erik, Richard J, Lyle Menendez, Erik Menendez's, Tammi Menendez, Chris Morton, Anna Eriksson, Rebecca Sneed, Tammi Ruth Saccoman, Saccoman, Talia, Eric Menendez, Ronald L, Andy Cano, Robert Rand, Rand, Roy Rosselló, Rosselló, Edgardo Díaz Organizations: Service, Netflix, RCA, Business, Prosecutors, Getty, Donovan Correctional, Inc, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, LA Times, RCA Records Locations: Beverly, Mule Creek, Ione , California, San Diego, New Jersey

☆ How the cast of Netflix's 'Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story' compare to the real-life people they play
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Eammon Jacobs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" is based on true story. Here's how the cast of the Netflix series compares to the real people they play. Go to newsletter preferences Thanks for signing up! download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . Advertisement"Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" is the latest dramatization of a notorious, headline-grabbing crime by producer Ryan Murphy.

Persons: Lyle, Erik Menendez, Here's, —, Ryan Murphy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Evan Peters, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Erik Menéndez, Cooper Koch, José Menéndez, Javier Bardem, Mary Louise, Kitty, Menéndez Organizations: Netflix, Service, Business

☆ Menendez’s Senate Replacement Has Been a Democrat for Just 5 Months
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-23 | by ( Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When George Helmy is sworn in next month as Robert Menendez’s temporary replacement in the Senate, he will be joining a chamber where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority, outnumbering Republicans by a single seat, 50 to 49. Mr. Helmy was selected last week by Gov. Mr. Helmy, however, is new to the Democratic Party. Mr. Helmy will serve in Washington only through November. His appointment will return the Democratic majority to 51 members, as it was before Mr. Menendez resigned on Tuesday.

Persons: George Helmy, Robert Menendez’s, Helmy, Philip D, Murphy, Menendez, Tammy Murphy, New Jersey’s, Chuck Schumer, Biden Organizations: Senate, Gov, Democrat, Democratic Party, Democratic Senate, New, Democratic, Democrats Locations: Murphy of New Jersey, Morris County, N.J, Washington, New York

The biggest chunk – about $1.9 million – was spent by Trump’s campaign and fundraising committees on a Trump-owned company that operates his jet. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, said that “committees are paying the fair market rate for all venues and services” provided by Trump businesses. The dynamic of candidates shelling out thousands on Trump’s businesses while vying for his endorsement – which can make or break Republican campaigns – is an example of how politics has boosted his businesses’ bottom line. About 150 congressional candidates have reported spending campaign funds at Trump businesses, including some Democrats in the years before his first presidential bid. Walker’s campaign spent a total of nearly $215,000 at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club and his Las Vegas hotel.

Persons: Donald Trump, Bernie Moreno, who’d, wasn’t, glitzy, Trump, spender, who’ve, Moreno, Herschel Walker, Kari Lake, Trump’s, Karoline Leavitt, –, “ He’s, ”, Daniel Weiner, Brennan, New Jersey Sen, Robert Menendez’s, Delaware Sen, Chris Coons, Joe Biden, Jeff Dean, AP Moreno, J.D, Vance, ” Moreno, Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr, David B, Cohen, ” Cohen, Reagan McCarthy, “, Walker’s, Walker, Scott Paradise, Sean Rayford, spenders, Lake, John Gibbs of, Vernon Jones of, Kathleen Clark, St . Louis, ” Leavitt, It’s, Weiner, ” Weiner, Lara Trump, hawking, Donald Trump's Mar, Joe Raedle, MAGA, Laurence Leamer, Lago, Leamer, ” Leamer, “ It’s, Steve Contorno, Kyung Lah, Alex Leeds Matthews, Alayna Treene Organizations: CNN, Ohio’s Senate, Trump’s, Florida, Republican, Republicans, GOP, Trump, Georgia Senate, Arizona, Mar, Republican Party, New, Trump National Golf Club, Ohio Senate, Senate, Twitter, University of Akron, Las, Former Republican, The Washington Post, Washington University, Super, TAG Air, Inc, Boeing, “ Trump Force, Brennan, Republican National Committee, RNC, Fund, National Republican Congressional, White Locations: Ohio’s, Lago, Georgia, Trump, New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, Florida, Vandalia , Ohio, Ohio, Cleveland, Palm Beach, Las Vegas, Arizona, Majewski, John Gibbs of Michigan, Vernon Jones of Georgia, Mar, St ., Palm Beach , Florida, American

☆ Sen. Bob Menendez will resign seat Aug. 20 after bribery conviction
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), arrives at Federal Court, for his bribery trial in connection with an alleged corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen, in New York City, U.S., May 21, 2024Sen. Bob Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat convicted last week in a federal bribery case, will resign his Senate seat effective Aug. 20, NBC News reports. Menendez said last Wednesday that that he would quit the Senate as a result of his criminal conviction, but he had not given a date. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, who is also a Democrat, will appoint a senator to fill out the brief remainder of Mendendez's term. Menendez was found guilty of all 16 criminal counts on July 17 in Manhattan federal court in a case where he was accused of accepting bribes, which included cash and gold bars, in exchange for taking actions that benefited the governments of Egypt and Qatar.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez, Phil Murphy Organizations: Federal Court, New, New Jersey Democrat, NBC, Senate, New Jersey Gov Locations: Jersey, New York City, U.S, New Jersey, Manhattan, Egypt, Qatar

☆ Menendez Will Resign From Senate, Avoiding an Ugly, Intraparty Battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Tracey Tully | Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Menendez’s decision to quit months before the end of his third term will likely allow Democrats to avoid a potentially ugly intraparty fight at a highly fraught political moment. New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, is expected to appoint a replacement who would serve until January. Mr. Menendez, 70, has insisted that he is innocent and vowed to appeal the guilty verdict. The decision, first reported by The New Jersey Globe, was described by four people familiar with Mr. Menendez’s remarks who were not authorized to discuss them publicly. One of them said Mr. Menendez planned to step down on Aug. 20 and could announce the decision publicly as soon as Tuesday afternoon.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Philip D, Murphy, Mr, Menendez, Menendez’s Organizations: Robert Menendez of New, Democratic, Senate Foreign Relations, The New, The New Jersey Globe Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Union City, N.J, Washington, The New Jersey

CNN —Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey will resign his seat effective August 20, according to a copy of his resignation letter obtained by CNN. Menendez had faced mounting pressure from within his own party to resign or face the threat of expulsion from the Senate. Receipt of Menendez’s resignation letter was announced Tuesday on the Senate floor in a brief exchange between Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Presiding Officer Sen. Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont. “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said in a statement. Menendez stepped down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last year, but had long rejected calls to resign his US Senate seat.

Persons: Democratic Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez, —, Chuck Schumer, Sen, Peter Welch, Phil Murphy, Andy Kim, Curtis Bashaw, ” Menendez, “, ”, Schumer, ” Schumer, Menendez’s, Prosecutors, Nadine Menendez, Salomon Melgen, Manu Raju, Ted Barrett, Owen Dahlkamp Organizations: CNN, Democratic, Bob Menendez of New, Senate, Vermont . New, Vermont . New Jersey Gov, Democrat, Capitol, Senate Foreign, Mercedes, Benz, Hyatt Locations: Bob Menendez of, Bob Menendez of New Jersey, New Jersey, Vermont ., Vermont . New Jersey, Paris

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) speaks to the media as he exits Manhattan federal court on July 16, 2024 in New York City. WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has told allies that he will resign from Congress after being convicted on federal corruption charges, two people directly familiar with those conversations tell NBC News. Among those who urged him to resign were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; and Menendez's friend and fellow New Jersey Democratic senator, Cory Booker. He had two stints as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a post he relinquished last year after his indictment. Menendez "provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt," the indictment alleged.

Persons: Sen, Bob Menendez, New York City . WASHINGTON — Sen, Menendez, Chuck Schumer, Dick Durbin, Cory Booker, Schumer, Phil Murphy, Andy Kim, Curtis Bashaw, Nadine, Weeks, he'd, retry Menendez Organizations: NBC, New, New Jersey Democratic, Senate, New Jersey Gov, Democratic, Senate Foreign Relations, Government, of, Prosecutors, Office Locations: Manhattan, New York City . WASHINGTON, New Jersey, Jersey, Union City, of Egypt, Florida

☆ Menendez Tells Allies He Is Considering Resigning After Conviction
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey has privately told allies that he is considering resigning from Congress after his conviction in a sweeping bribery scheme rather than face a potential expulsion vote, according to three people familiar with his remarks. Two of the people, who were not authorized to discuss the conversations, cautioned that Mr. Menendez has not made a final decision and could still fight to serve out his term. Publicly, he has maintained his innocence and vowed to appeal Tuesday’s guilty verdict on 16 felony counts. “I have never been anything but a patriot,” Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, told reporters in New York after conviction. But the comments he made in phone calls with close associates in the hours after he left the Manhattan courthouse suggest for the first time that Mr. Menendez has absorbed how rapidly his political path forward is crumbling — and may be looking to avoid further public humiliation.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, Tuesday’s, ” Mr Organizations: Robert Menendez of New, Publicly Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, New York, Manhattan

A Manhattan jury returned the verdict after deliberating for about 13 hours over three days in Federal District Court. Mr. Menendez was found guilty on all 16 counts he faced, including bribery, honest services wire fraud, extortion, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and acting as an agent for Egypt. The verdict made Mr. Menendez the first United States senator to be found guilty of acting as an agent of a foreign power and the seventh to be convicted of a federal crime while in office. Mr. Menendez, 70, now faces the possibility of many years in prison when he is sentenced by the judge, Sidney H. Stein. The judge said he would sentence Mr. Menendez on Oct. 29.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, Sidney H, Stein Organizations: Robert Menendez of New, Senate Foreign Relations, Court, United Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Manhattan, Egypt, United States

☆ Menendez Has Been Convicted. What Happens Next?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey maintained his innocence on Tuesday and vowed to appeal his conviction on sweeping charges of bribery, extortion and obstruction of justice. Mr. Menendez offered few immediate answers. Judge Sidney H. Stein set a hearing to sentence Mr. Menendez and his co-defendants for Oct. 29, just a week before Election Day. The senator, who is free on a personal recognizance bond, could face up to 20 years in prison. It took only a matter of minutes, though, for Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, to face renewed calls to resign his Senate seat, including from Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, and Gov.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, Sidney H, Stein, Chuck Schumer, Philip D, Murphy Organizations: Robert Menendez of New, Democrat, Gov Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, New York, Murphy of New Jersey

☆ It’s not just Bob Menendez: Americans really love gold bars
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Elisabeth Buchwald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Menendez maintains his innocence and plans to appeal the verdict, he told reporters outside the Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday. The discovery that Menendez owned a hoard of gold bars stunned many people. And now even Costco sells gold bars. The two kilograms and 11 ounces worth of gold bars Menendez and his wife possessed would have been worth over $185,000 as of Tuesday, according to Goldprice.org data. Other people who prefer to keep gold under their own roof store it in a gun safe or floor safe, he added.

Persons: Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez, Jonathan Rose, ” Rose, ’, ”, Rose, it’s Organizations: New York CNN, Bank, Genesis Gold, Western Alliance, CNN, Costco, Dow, IRS Locations: New York, Manhattan, Beverly Hills , California

☆ What to Know About the Intricate Menendez Corruption Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Benjamin Weiser | Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey was convicted on Tuesday of taking part in a complicated bribery scheme in which he traded political favors for cash, gold bars and other gifts. Federal prosecutors said the plot began in February 2018, less than a month after Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, was cleared of charges tied to an unrelated federal corruption case in New Jersey. Here are the central elements of the case against the senator and his two co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, two New Jersey businessmen:Aiding EgyptMr. Menendez was charged with using his influence and power as a senator in ways that benefited both the government of Egypt and Mr. Hana, an American citizen who emigrated from Egypt and was trying to get a halal meat certification company off the ground in New Jersey. Mr. Menendez, a former leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was accused of steering weapons and aid to Egypt in exchange for bribes.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, Egypt Mr, Hana Organizations: Robert Menendez of New, Democrat, Senate Foreign Relations Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, New Jersey, Jersey, Egypt, American

☆ A Senator’s Fate Is in a Jury’s Hands
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Benjamin Weiser | Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Manhattan jury in Senator Robert Menendez’s corruption trial began its deliberations midday Friday on a raft of federal charges in what prosecutors describe as a complex and yearslong bribery conspiracy. A third-term Democrat who represents New Jersey, Mr. Menendez is accused of steering aid to Egypt, applying political pressure to preserve a friend’s business monopoly and meddling in criminal investigations in exchange for bribes of gold, cash and a Mercedes-Benz. On Thursday, Mr. Menendez, 70, seated at the defense table with his lawyers, leaned back in a chair, hands clasped on his lap, as a prosecutor offered an hourslong rebuttal to frequently impassioned closing arguments by lawyers for the senator and two businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, who are being tried with him. In his rebuttal argument, the prosecutor, Daniel C. Richenthal, took direct aim at a pillar of the senator’s defense strategy — an effort to shift blame to his wife, Nadine Menendez, 57.

Persons: Robert Menendez’s, Menendez, clasped, Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, Daniel C, Nadine Menendez Organizations: Benz Locations: Manhattan, New Jersey, Egypt

CNN —The jury has begun deliberating in the federal corruption trial against Sen. Bob Menendez and his co-defendants. Menendez and his co-defendants, New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, are accused of participating in a yearslong bribery scheme. Prosecutors spent nearly seven weeks untangling the multiple corruption schemes that they allege Bob and Nadine Menendez and the co-defendants were involved in. Federal prosecutors structured their case by chapters, calling witnesses to testify about separate schemes allegedly brokered by the senator in tandem with his wife. During the trial, the senator’s lawyers called five witnesses, including his sister, sister-in-law and the attorney for a friend of Uribe.

Persons: Sen, Bob Menendez, Menendez, Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, Mercedes, Nadine Menendez, –, Bob, Hana, Jose Uribe, Uribe, Bob Menendez’s, Fidel Castro, Donald Trump’s, Joe, Andy Kim, Kim, Curtis Bashaw Organizations: CNN, New, New Jersey Democrat, Prosecutors, Mercedes Benz, Democratic, Republican Locations: New Jersey, Cuban, New York City, Cuba, Manhattan, Jersey, South Jersey

But he urged the jury to refocus of what he called a “clear pattern of corruption.”“The timeline tells you what happened,” he said. Afterward, Mr. Monteleoni said that the businessman, Wael Hana, and another wealthy associate began paying Ms. Menendez a generous salary. Mr. Monteleoni said that was not believable, and he presented text messages and Google search history that he said showed Mr. Menendez knew exactly what his wife was receiving. Mr. Monteleoni was expected to complete his closing argument on Tuesday morning. Mr. Menendez fumed as he left the courthouse on Monday.

Persons: Robert Menendez, ” Prosecutors, Nadine Menendez, Paul Monteleoni, ”, “, Menendez, Nadine, Mr, Monteleoni, Wael Hana, Menendez fumed Organizations: ”, Robert Menendez of New, Senate Foreign Relations, Department of Agriculture, Senate Foreign Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Manhattan, New Jersey

☆ How Biden’s 2024 choice could reshape the Senate and Supreme Court for years
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( Ronald Brownstein | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

But recent history raises deep questions about whether Democratic Senate candidates can continue to levitate as far above the presidential ticket as polls now show. “A Democratic Senate majority coalition relies on having both Senators from a state such as Michigan,” said Daniel Hopkins, a University of Pennsylvania political scientist. As recently as the 1980s, it was common for voters to split their tickets in Senate races. Still, even that alignment left room for some Senate candidates to swim against this general tide. This history, by itself, doesn’t answer whether Democratic Senate candidates would have better prospects with or without Biden as their presidential nominee.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Donald Trump, Republican Sen, Susan Collins of, Trump, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, ”, Democratic Sen, Evan Bayh, Bayh, “, —, Sen, Joe Manchin, who’s, Democratic Sens, Sherrod Brown of, Jon Tester, Montana, Bob Casey, Tammy Baldwin, Jacky Rosen, Elissa Slotkin, Ruben Gallego, Kyrsten, Martin Heinrich, Nella Domenici, Pete Domenici, Curtis Bashaw, Andy Kim, Bob Menendez, Rick Scott, Ted Cruz, Collins, Ron Johnson, Daniel Hopkins, — hasn’t, David Bergstein, ” Bergstein, ” Mike Berg, ” Lee Drutman, Drutman, Biden’s, ” Drutman, Democratic pollster, ” Jason Kander, Kander, Hillary Clinton, Clinton, Roy Blunt, doesn’t, ” Kander, ” Bayh, Republican Todd Young, it’s, Ronald Reagan’s, Barack Obama, Obama, Republican Dean Heller, Heller —, Steve Bullock, Jesse Hunt, Hunt, Hopkins Organizations: CNN, Senate, Democratic, Republican, White, GOP, West, Republicans, Biden, Democratic Sens, Democrats, Trump, University of Pennsylvania, don’t, Democratic Senatorial, “ Republicans, National Republican Senatorial, Democratic Senate, ”, White House, Indiana Senate, Democratic Gov Locations: Susan Collins of Maine, Indiana, West Virginia, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, — Maine, Florida , Iowa, Ohio, New America, Missouri, Southern, Maine, Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky, Montana , South Carolina

☆ New Jersey Democratic power broker pleads not guilty to state racketeering charges
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-09 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

New Jersey businessman and co-owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer, George Norcross walks to Judge Patricia McInerney's courtroom at City Hall in Philadelphia. The New Jersey Democratic power broker charged with racketeering by the state attorney general pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges he threatened people whose properties he sought to take over and orchestrated tax incentive legislation to benefit organizations he controlled. "My client emphatically states that he is not guilty," Norcross' attorney Michael Critchley told Judge Peter Warshaw. A longtime kingmaker in southern New Jersey, Norcross often wielded influence through back channels. His brothers are lobbyist and co-defendant Philip Norcross — who pleaded not guilty on Tuesday as well — and U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross, a former state legislator who is not charged.

Persons: George Norcross, Patricia McInerney's, George E, Norcross, Matt Platkin's, Michael Critchley, Peter Warshaw, hasn't, Warshaw, Sen, Bob Menendez, He's, Donald Trump's Mar, Steve Sweeney, Philip Norcross —, Donald Norcross, William M, Camden Mayor Dana L, Redd, John J, O'Donnell, Sidney R, Brown, Menendez Organizations: Philadelphia Inquirer, Hall, The New, The New Jersey Democratic, Court, Democratic, U.S, Norcross, Democratic National Committee, Democrats, He's, New, New Jersey Democrats, U.S . Rep, Camden Community Partnership, Camden Mayor Locations: Jersey, Philadelphia, The, The New Jersey, Mercer County, New York, Camden , New Jersey, Camden, Delaware, Palm Beach , Florida, New Jersey

agents raided the New Jersey home of Senator Robert Menendez and his wife, they found envelope after envelope of cash, a federal prosecutor told a jury on Monday. Cash stuffed in bags, cash stuffed in the pockets of the senator’s jackets, cash stuffed in his boots. “It wasn’t enough for him to be one of the most powerful people in Washington,” Mr. Monteleoni told jurors. “It wasn’t enough for him to be entrusted by the public with the power to approve billions of dollars of U.S. military aid to foreign countries.”“No, Robert Menendez wanted all that power,” he added. “But he also wanted to use it to pile up riches for himself and his wife.”

Persons: F.B.I, Robert Menendez, Cash, Menendez, Paul M, Monteleoni, ” Mr, ” Organizations: Senate Foreign Relations Locations: New Jersey, Washington

☆ How a Last-Ditch Effort to Save Menendez From Prosecution Backfired
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-07 | by ( Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Last September, a prominent white-collar defense lawyer met with federal prosecutors in Manhattan in a last-ditch effort to stave off an indictment against his client. In the meeting, the lawyer, Abbe D. Lowell, used a PowerPoint presentation to convey explanations for certain financial payments that were under scrutiny by the government. It was a moment of great risk and potential peril for Mr. Menendez — and the effort failed. Less than two weeks later, prosecutors announced an indictment charging the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with conspiring to accept thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for political favors. The government has made it clear that Mr. Lowell, who represented Mr. Menendez only during the investigation and not afterward, engaged in no wrongdoing.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Abbe D, Lowell, Menendez —, Nadine Menendez, ”, Menendez Organizations: Robert Menendez of New, U.S, Southern, of Locations: Manhattan, Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, of New York

☆ Menendez Defense Rests Without Senator Testifying
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-03 | by ( Benjamin Weiser | Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

After calling just four witnesses, lawyers for Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey rested their case late Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan federal court, setting the stage for jurors to begin deliberations in his international bribery conspiracy trial early next week. Mr. Menendez, 70, said that he decided against testifying in his own defense for two primary reasons. The government, he said, had not proved its case, and he did not want to give prosecutors an opportunity to rehash the charges twice — once on cross-examination and again in closing arguments. That was “simply not something that makes any sense to me whatsoever,” Mr. Menendez said as he left the courthouse after proceedings ended for the day.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, —, ” Mr Organizations: Robert Menendez of New Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Manhattan

☆ Prosecutors in Menendez Bribery Trial Rest Their Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Benjamin Weiser | Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After seven weeks of trial, federal prosecutors rested their case on Friday against Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat accused of conspiring to take hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold, cash and other bribes in return for the senator’s willingness to dispense political favors at home and abroad. Defense lawyers are expected to begin calling witnesses next week in Federal District Court in Manhattan. Throughout the trial, lawyers for Mr. Menendez, who has vigorously maintained his innocence, have aggressively cross-examined a parade of government witnesses, seeking to undermine their credibility. “The government hasn’t proven its case,” Mr. Menendez said as he left the courthouse on Friday. The conclusion of the government’s case comes nine months after Mr. Menendez, his wife and several New Jersey businessmen were first charged with participating in a vast bribery conspiracy that prosecutors say began in 2018.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, Mr Organizations: New, New Jersey Democrat, Defense, Federal, Court Locations: New Jersey, Manhattan, Jersey

☆ Wife’s Ex-Boyfriend and Fear of Poverty at Center of Menendez’s Defense
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-28 | by ( Tracey Tully | Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senator Robert Menendez’s lawyers have cast him as a man who was duped by his dazzling wife, Nadine Menendez, and unaware of the gold bars and cash she kept in her locked bedroom closet — or the deals she made to get them. After seven weeks of trial in Federal District Court in Manhattan, prosecutors plan to rest their case on Friday, paving the way for the defense to begin offering evidence intended to poke holes in the government’s case. Mr. Menendez, 70, and Ms. Menendez, 57, are charged with taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the senator’s efforts to steer aid to Egypt, prop up an ally’s business monopoly and disrupt criminal investigations on behalf of friends. The senator, a Democrat, is on trial, however, without his wife. A judge postponed Ms. Menendez’s trial after she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Persons: Robert Menendez’s, Nadine Menendez, Menendez, Menendez’s Organizations: Federal, Court, Democrat Locations: Manhattan, Egypt

☆ Formula 1 Tickets and a Fixation on Gold: Menendez Trial Takeaways
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Tracey Tully | Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After a month and a half of testimony from government witnesses, lawyers for Senator Robert Menendez this week are expected to begin rebutting the web of corruption charges facing New Jersey’s senior senator, once one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are likely to wrap up their case against Mr. Menendez by Wednesday. Mr. Menendez’s lawyers will then begin to call witnesses; they have said they might call as many as four dozen. Mr. Menendez, 70, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he doled out political favors to friends and foreign governments in exchange for bribes both eye-popping and mundane: hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz, Formula One race tickets, a reclining chair and an exercise machine. He is charged with acting as an agent of a foreign government and is the first senator in American history to be indicted twice in separate bribery cases — facts that have infused the proceeding with a sober, precedent-setting tone.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez Organizations: New, Wednesday, Mercedes, Benz, Formula Locations: New Jersey’s, Washington, Federal, Manhattan

☆ ‘Is There Any Chance He Can Sit on a Camel?’ A Senator’s Wife Wanted to Know.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Tracey Tully | Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In March 2019, an aide to Senator Robert Menendez drafted a letter that used strong language to criticize the president of Egypt and the country’s human rights record. Mr. Menendez declined to sign it. Mr. Menendez, then the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he wanted to try a less confrontational approach, the aide, Sarah Arkin, testified on Monday at the senator’s bribery trial. “We’ve been going after them for so long on human rights — have been really out there publicly criticizing them — and it hasn’t really changed anything on the ground,” Ms. Arkin, a senior staff member with the committee, said Mr. Menendez had told her. Instead, Mr. Menendez said he wanted “to be a little less publicly critical and do more private and quiet engagement,” Ms. Arkin said.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, Sarah Arkin, “ We’ve, Ms, Arkin, Mr, “, ” Ms Organizations: Senate Foreign Relations Locations: Egypt

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