DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Those rules were designed to prevent a repeat of the abuses of Richard Nixon, who improperly used the Justice Department to punish his political enemies. A new president appoints roughly 300 senior Justice Department officials, including the U.S. attorneys who run offices across the country. All 300 must be confirmed by the Senate, but multiple former Justice Department officials said they fear Trump would install partisans willing to do his bidding. Justice Department officials have risen to the occasion and defied presidential overreach in the past. You go in and just whack a good portion of the workforce,” the former Justice Department official said.

Persons: Donald Trump, —, Trump, don’t, Richard Nixon, “, ”, Joyce Vance, Barbara McQuade, Sen, JD Vance, Vance, Vance’s, Biden Justice Department’s, Hunter Biden, Robert Menendez, Eric Adams, Jack Smith, Aileen Cannon, Cannon, Jeffrey Clark, Clark, Mike Davis, influencer Benny Johnson’s, Davis, Joe Biden, Jan, gulag ”, ” Trump, ” Vance, “ Trump, Stephen Gillers, Gillers, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, ” Gillers, Ilya Somin, Somin, Nixon, Archibald Cox, wouldn’t Organizations: NBC, Google, National Public Radio, NBC News, Justice Department, FBI, Trump, Department, U.S, Senate, Drug, Administration, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, DOJ, Biden Justice, Robert Menendez of New, New York, U.S . Capitol, ABC News, Republican, Politico, D.C, gulag, Service, NYU School of Law, George Mason University, senior Locations: U.S, Alabama, Ohio, Georgia, Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, New, —, acquittals

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

☆ 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

☆ 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

☆ 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 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

☆ 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

☆ 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 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

☆ 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

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

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

☆ What Happens When a Defendant Gets Covid-19 During Trial?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Benjamin Weiser | Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The trial of Senator Robert Menendez was paused on Thursday after the judge announced that one of the senator’s co-defendants, Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer, had tested positive for Covid-19. The judge, Sidney H. Stein, said it was “the expectation and the hope of the court” that the trial could resume Monday, given revised federal Covid guidelines and depending on how quickly Mr. Daibes begins to recover. Mr. Daibes is on trial with the senator and another defendant in a sprawling bribery conspiracy case in which prosecutors say Mr. Menendez, 70, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, 57, accepted gold, cash and a luxury car in exchange for the senator’s agreeing to dispense political favors at home and abroad. Ms. Menendez’s trial was postponed until at least August because she is being treated for breast cancer. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Fred Daibes, Sidney H, Stein, Daibes, Menendez, Nadine Menendez, Menendez’s Organizations: Disease Control Locations: New Jersey

☆ Hunter Biden conviction shatters Trump’s persecution narrative
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-12 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In his first reaction to the verdict, Hunter Biden didn’t attack the judge or prosecutors, simply saying he was grateful for the love and support of his family and blessed to be clean again. The Hunter Biden verdict also contradicted the central rationale of Trump’s multiple legal defenses in his four criminal cases, several civil matters and his entire presidential campaign. “So much for the weaponization of the Justice Department to go after just the enemies of the other side,” Michael Zeldin, a former senior Justice Department official and federal prosecutor, said on CNN Max on Tuesday. Stephen Miller, Trump’s former White House domestic policy adviser, argued that the Justice Department had actually shown favoritism toward Hunter Biden by not charging him with 50 felonies over foreign influence peddling. “Hunter Biden just became the Deep State’s sacrificial lamb to show that Justice is ‘balanced’ while the other Biden crimes remain ignored,” she wrote on X.

Persons: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Biden, Hunter, “, ”, Hunter Biden, Trump, ” Trump, Phil McGraw, couldn’t, ” Michael Zeldin, CNN Max, General Merrick, Garland, David Weiss, Weiss, “ Hunter Biden, ” Ken Buck, CNN’s Erin Burnett, ” Julian Zelizer, he’s, who’s, He’s, ” Zelizer, Democratic Sen, Robert Menendez, Henry Cuellar, Jamie Raskin, James Comer, Big Guy, ” Comer, Mike Johnson, Stephen Miller, Trump’s, ” Miller, Marjorie Taylor Greene, baselessly Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, Fox News, Trump, Democratic, Department, White House, Republican, Justice, Princeton University, “, Robert Menendez of New, Biden, Maryland Democrat, Kentucky Republican, Big, Louisiana Republican, BIG, Georgia Locations: America, Manhattan, Delaware, Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey, New York, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Mexican, United States, Kentucky, Ukraine, China, Louisiana

☆ Menendez attorneys grill star witness in bribery trial about alleged payoffs
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 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., June 11, 2024. Defense attorneys on Tuesday scrutinized the credibility of the star witness in the federal corruption trial of Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., after he testified that he bribed the embattled lawmaker and his wife. The witness, Jose Uribe, was one of three New Jersey businessmen who were originally charged in the case along with Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez. "That was my promise to her so she could get the car and comply with the deal," Uribe testified Monday. On cross-examination Tuesday, an attorney for Menendez co-defendant Wael Hana sought to undermine Uribe's testimony, NBC News reported.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Sen, Jose Uribe, Menendez, Nadine Menendez, Uribe, Nadine, Wael Hana, Ricardo Solano, Solano Organizations: Federal Court, Benz, Prosecutors, NBC News Locations: Jersey, New York City, U.S, New York, New Jersey

☆ Hunter Biden was always doomed to lose his trial. His best bet is appealing a 'vindictive prosecution.'
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Jacob Shamsian | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Related VideoIn his opening statement at the trial, Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell urged jurors in the Wilmington, Delaware, federal court to acquit his client. "They know how to put on a tight gun case." Biden's trial was not necessarily a lost cause. Hunter Biden's lawyers have argued this arrangement has perversely allowed Weiss to politicize the proceedings unchecked. This story was updated following the jury verdict in Hunter Biden's gun trial.

Persons: —, Hunter Biden, Biden, Abbe Lowell, Prosecutors, Sarah Krissoff, didn't, Maryellen Noreika, Donald Trump, Lowell, Jared Kushner, Sen, Robert Menendez, John Edwards —, Joe Biden, ROBERTO SCHMIDT, David Weiss, General Merrick Garland, Weiss, Hunter Biden's, Noreika, Trump, Republicans gloated, Hallie Biden, Cozen O'Connor, Duncan Levin, Levin, He's, Krissoff, Evelyn Hockstein, Neama Rahmani, Rahmani Organizations: Service, Business, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, AFP, Getty, Trump, Justice, Republicans, Biden's, US, BI, Republican, U.S, U.S . Department of Justice, Hill, REUTERS, Justice Department, West, Creative Locations: Wilmington , Delaware, Manhattan, Delaware, California, New York, Texas

☆ Menendez Witness Braces for Questions on ‘His Lies and His Cheating’
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Tracey Tully | Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Jose Uribe, a star government witness with a checkered past, is expected to testify on Tuesday for a third day at Senator Robert Menendez’s bribery trial as the focus of the proceeding shifts toward a series of face-to-face meetings that Mr. Uribe had with the senator. Mr. Uribe, who has pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe Mr. Menendez with a Mercedes-Benz, is likely to face hours of cross-examination by defense lawyers about at least one element that was missing from his direct testimony: any discussion with the senator of a payoff. “I never talked to Mr. Menendez about making payments for the car,” Mr. Uribe said in court on Monday. Mr. Uribe’s testimony did reveal two private meetings with the senator that were not mentioned in a federal indictment against Mr. Menendez.

Persons: Jose Uribe, Robert Menendez’s, Uribe, Menendez, Mr, Uribe’s Organizations: Benz

☆ On Senator Menendez’s Patio, Businessman Says, He Asked Directly for Help
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-10 | by ( Benjamin Weiser | Tracey Tully | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Jose Uribe, the businessman who has said he bribed Senator Robert Menendez in return for his help in quashing a criminal investigation involving two people close to him, testified on Monday that he had asked the senator directly for his help and that Mr. Menendez had said he would “look into it.”Mr. Uribe said that on Sept. 5, 2019, the night before Mr. Menendez met with New Jersey’s attorney general to discuss the matter, he was invited to the senator’s girlfriend’s home in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., where he and Mr. Menendez sat on a backyard patio, with the senator smoking a cigar. Mr. Menendez rang a little bell that he had on the table, calling out “mon amour” — French for “my love” — and summoning Nadine Menendez, the woman he married the next year. Mr. Uribe said she brought him a piece of paper and went back into the house. At the senator’s request, Mr. Uribe wrote down the names of two friends and two companies he believed were under investigation. Mr. Menendez then took the paper, folded it and placed it in his pants pocket.

Persons: Jose Uribe, Robert Menendez, Menendez, Mr, Uribe, “, Nadine Menendez Organizations: New Locations: quashing, Englewood Cliffs, N.J

☆ Former N.J. Attorney General Takes the Stand in Menendez Bribery Trial
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-06 | by ( Tracey Tully | Benjamin Weiser | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New Jersey’s former attorney general, Gurbir S. Grewal, took the stand on Thursday afternoon in Senator Robert Menendez’s bribery trial, becoming the most prominent official to testify against the senator, a fellow Democrat. Mr. Grewal was expected to offer details about telephone calls from Mr. Menendez and a brief meeting the two had in September 2019 in the senator’s office in Newark. Being called as a witness in a criminal trial was an unusual role for Mr. Grewal, a former federal prosecutor who now leads the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division. Mr. Menendez turned to look directly at Mr. Grewal as he walked slowly to the stand. Mr. Uribe, who was charged last year in the alleged bribery conspiracy, pleaded guilty in March and is now cooperating with prosecutors.

Persons: Gurbir S, Grewal, Robert Menendez’s, Menendez, Mr, Jose Uribe, Uribe’s, Uribe Organizations: U.S . Securities, Exchange, Prosecutors Locations: Newark

Search resuls for: "Robert Menendez"

25 mentions found