Latest news with #Menendez
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rich in gold bars but poor in Trump pardons
For months, former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has praised President Donald Trump. The Democrat has explicitly echoed Trump's criticism of the president's own criminal prosecutions, which Trump likes to describe, without evidence, as the political weaponization of the justice system. Now Menendez is reporting to federal prison, beginning his 11-year sentence after these months of attempts to sweet-talk Trump failed to win him the pardon or commutation for which he appeared to be angling. That's even as other allies of the president and those who had cozied up to him saw their prosecutions and sentences dropped. The 71-year-old Menendez, who spent more than 30 years in the House and later the Senate and rose to become the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, resigned in disgrace last year after being convicted of accepting bribes — including gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz and cash — in exchange for helping three businessmen and the Egyptian government. He arrived on Tuesday to the Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Nine days after Trump's inauguration — the day Menendez was sentenced — the former senator tagged the president in a social media post in which he claimed that 'this whole process has been nothing but a political witch hunt.' 'President Trump is right. This process is political and has been corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,' Menendez said. Last week, he again took to X and lambasted prosecutors in a series of posts he titled 'How weaponization works.' He noted that the US attorney for the Southern District of New York — the office that prosecuted Menendez — also oversaw 'investigations of the Trump organization, the Trump inauguration committee and others associated with DJT and the Republican Party.' Meanwhile, the Trump administration has gutted the federal government's ability to fight public corruption, shrinking its public integrity section — created in the wake of the Watergate scandal — and stripping it of much of its power. The start of Menendez's prison sentence comes after a federal appeals court last week denied his bid to remain out of prison on bail as he appeals his conviction. A judge did allow Menendez to attend his stepdaughter's wedding in Massachusetts over the weekend and to escort his wife, Nadine Menendez, who was also convicted on corruption charges and is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. (Her own sentencing will take place in September.) The president has issued a flurry of pardons and halted prosecutions for his political allies. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat and is seeking reelection this year as an independent, saw his corruption charges dropped by Trump's Justice Department, as Adams helped the Trump administration enact its immigration agenda. Trump in February pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was removed from office and later convicted of charges that included a scheme to sell an appointment to fill the vacant Senate seat left by then-President Barack Obama. Blagojevich long sought to align himself with Trump and called himself a 'Trumpocrat' — a Democrat who supports Trump. Trump has also pardoned a long list of political allies — including nearly all of the January 6, 2021, defendants. Trump pardoned reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were serving prison sentences following their 2022 conviction on fraud and tax charges, after their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, cozied up to the Trump family and appeared at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. 'No MAGA left behind,' Ed Martin, Trump's short-lived interim US attorney for Washington, DC, said on X after Trump pardoned a former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud and — just like Menendez — bribery.
CNN
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Rich in gold bars but poor in Trump pardons
For months, former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has praised President Donald Trump. The Democrat has explicitly echoed Trump's criticism of the president's own criminal prosecutions, which Trump likes to describe, without evidence, as the political weaponization of the justice system. Now Menendez is reporting to federal prison, beginning his 11-year sentence after these months of attempts to sweet-talk Trump failed to win him the pardon or commutation for which he appeared to be angling. That's even as other allies of the president and those who had cozied up to him saw their prosecutions and sentences dropped. The 71-year-old Menendez, who spent more than 30 years in the House and later the Senate and rose to become the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, resigned in disgrace last year after being convicted of accepting bribes — including gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz and cash — in exchange for helping three businessmen and the Egyptian government. He arrived on Tuesday to the Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Nine days after Trump's inauguration — the day Menendez was sentenced — the former senator tagged the president in a social media post in which he claimed that 'this whole process has been nothing but a political witch hunt.' 'President Trump is right. This process is political and has been corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,' Menendez said. Last week, he again took to X and lambasted prosecutors in a series of posts he titled 'How weaponization works.' He noted that the US attorney for the Southern District of New York — the office that prosecuted Menendez — also oversaw 'investigations of the Trump organization, the Trump inauguration committee and others associated with DJT and the Republican Party.' Meanwhile, the Trump administration has gutted the federal government's ability to fight public corruption, shrinking its public integrity section — created in the wake of the Watergate scandal — and stripping it of much of its power. The start of Menendez's prison sentence comes after a federal appeals court last week denied his bid to remain out of prison on bail as he appeals his conviction. A judge did allow Menendez to attend his stepdaughter's wedding in Massachusetts over the weekend and to escort his wife, Nadine Menendez, who was also convicted on corruption charges and is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. (Her own sentencing will take place in September.) The president has issued a flurry of pardons and halted prosecutions for his political allies. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat and is seeking reelection this year as an independent, saw his corruption charges dropped by Trump's Justice Department, as Adams helped the Trump administration enact its immigration agenda. Trump in February pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was removed from office and later convicted of charges that included a scheme to sell an appointment to fill the vacant Senate seat left by then-President Barack Obama. Blagojevich long sought to align himself with Trump and called himself a 'Trumpocrat' — a Democrat who supports Trump. Trump has also pardoned a long list of political allies — including nearly all of the January 6, 2021, defendants. Trump pardoned reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were serving prison sentences following their 2022 conviction on fraud and tax charges, after their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, cozied up to the Trump family and appeared at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. 'No MAGA left behind,' Ed Martin, Trump's short-lived interim US attorney for Washington, DC, said on X after Trump pardoned a former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud and — just like Menendez — bribery.
CNN
17-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Rich in gold bars but poor in Trump pardons
For months, former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has praised President Donald Trump. The Democrat has explicitly echoed Trump's criticism of the president's own criminal prosecutions, which Trump likes to describe, without evidence, as the political weaponization of the justice system. Now Menendez is reporting to federal prison, beginning his 11-year sentence after these months of attempts to sweet-talk Trump failed to win him the pardon or commutation for which he appeared to be angling. That's even as other allies of the president and those who had cozied up to him saw their prosecutions and sentences dropped. The 71-year-old Menendez, who spent more than 30 years in the House and later the Senate and rose to become the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, resigned in disgrace last year after being convicted of accepting bribes — including gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz and cash — in exchange for helping three businessmen and the Egyptian government. He arrived on Tuesday to the Federal Correctional Institution Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Nine days after Trump's inauguration — the day Menendez was sentenced — the former senator tagged the president in a social media post in which he claimed that 'this whole process has been nothing but a political witch hunt.' 'President Trump is right. This process is political and has been corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system,' Menendez said. Last week, he again took to X and lambasted prosecutors in a series of posts he titled 'How weaponization works.' He noted that the US attorney for the Southern District of New York — the office that prosecuted Menendez — also oversaw 'investigations of the Trump organization, the Trump inauguration committee and others associated with DJT and the Republican Party.' Meanwhile, the Trump administration has gutted the federal government's ability to fight public corruption, shrinking its public integrity section — created in the wake of the Watergate scandal — and stripping it of much of its power. The start of Menendez's prison sentence comes after a federal appeals court last week denied his bid to remain out of prison on bail as he appeals his conviction. A judge did allow Menendez to attend his stepdaughter's wedding in Massachusetts over the weekend and to escort his wife, Nadine Menendez, who was also convicted on corruption charges and is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. (Her own sentencing will take place in September.) The president has issued a flurry of pardons and halted prosecutions for his political allies. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat and is seeking reelection this year as an independent, saw his corruption charges dropped by Trump's Justice Department, as Adams helped the Trump administration enact its immigration agenda. Trump in February pardoned former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who was removed from office and later convicted of charges that included a scheme to sell an appointment to fill the vacant Senate seat left by then-President Barack Obama. Blagojevich long sought to align himself with Trump and called himself a 'Trumpocrat' — a Democrat who supports Trump. Trump has also pardoned a long list of political allies — including nearly all of the January 6, 2021, defendants. Trump pardoned reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were serving prison sentences following their 2022 conviction on fraud and tax charges, after their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, cozied up to the Trump family and appeared at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. 'No MAGA left behind,' Ed Martin, Trump's short-lived interim US attorney for Washington, DC, said on X after Trump pardoned a former Virginia sheriff, Scott Jenkins, who was convicted of conspiracy, honest services fraud and — just like Menendez — bribery.
The Guardian
17-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ex-senator Bob Menendez arrives at prison to begin serving 11-year sentence
Bob Menendez arrived at a federal prison Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat and former US senator has been mocked for the crimes as 'Gold Bar Bob', according to his own lawyer. The federal bureau of prisons confirmed that Menendez was in custody at the Schuylkill federal correctional institution in Minersville, Pennsylvania. The facility has a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it is likely he will end up in the camp. The prison is about 118 miles (190km) west of New York City. It's home to about 1,200 inmates, including ex-New York City organized crime boss James Coonan and former gas station owner Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, whom the New York Post dubbed 'Gas-Station Gotti' for his ruthless, violent ways. Menendez, 71, maintains his innocence. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected his last-ditch effort to remain free on bail while he fights to get his bribery conviction overturned. A three-judge panel on the second US circuit court of appeals denied his bail motion. Pleading for leniency, Menendez told a judge at his sentencing in January: 'I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions. I've done far more good than bad.' Menendez has also appeared to be angling for a pardon from Donald Trump, aligning himself with the Republican president's criticisms of the judicial system, particularly in New York City. 'This process is political and it's corrupted to the core,' Menendez told reporters after his January sentencing. 'I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.' In posts Tuesday on the social platform X that were later deleted, Menendez criticized prosecutors as politically motivated and opposed to his foreign policy views – and praised Trump for 'rising above the law fare'. Menendez resigned last year after he was convicted of selling his clout for bribes. FBI agents found $480,000 in cash in his home, some of it stuffed inside boots and jacket pockets, along with gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage. In exchange, prosecutors said, Menendez performed corrupt favors for New Jersey business owners, including protecting them from criminal investigations, helping in business deals with foreign powers and meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping Egypt access $300m in US military aid. Menendez, who once chaired the Senate foreign relations committee, resigned a month after his conviction. He had been in the Senate since 2006. Two business owners were also convicted last year along with Menendez. His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes from the business owners. Her sentencing is scheduled for 11 September. At his sentencing, Menendez's lawyers described how the son of Cuban immigrants emerged from poverty to become 'the epitome of the American Dream' – rising from mayor of Union City, New Jersey, to decades in Congress – before his conviction 'rendered him a national punchline'. 'Despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as Gold Bar Bob,' the defense lawyer Adam Fee told the judge.
Los Angeles Times
17-06-2025
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez arrives at prison to begin serving his 11-year bribery sentence
NEW YORK — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez arrived at a federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat has been mocked for the crimes as 'Gold Bar Bob,' according to his own lawyer. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Menendez was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania. The facility has a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it's likely he'll end up in the camp. The prison is about 118 miles west of New York City. It's home to about 1,200 inmates, including ex-New York City organized crime boss James Coonan and former gas station owner Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, whom the New York Post dubbed 'Gas-Station Gotti' for his ruthless, violent ways. Menendez, 71, maintains his innocence. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected his last-ditch effort to remain free on bail while he fights to get his bribery conviction overturned. A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion. Pleading for leniency, Menendez told a judge at his sentencing in January: 'I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions. I've done far more good than bad.' Menendez has also appeared to be angling for a pardon from President Trump, aligning himself with the Republican's criticisms of the judicial system, particularly in New York City. 'This process is political and it's corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system,' Menendez told reporters after his January sentencing. In posts Tuesday on the social platform X that were later deleted, Menendez criticized prosecutors as politically motivated and opposed to his foreign policy views and praised Trump for 'rising above the law fare.' Menendez resigned last year after he was convicted of selling his clout for bribes. FBI agents found $480,000 in cash in his home, some of it stuffed inside boots and jacket pockets, along with gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage. In exchange, prosecutors said, Menendez performed corrupt favors for New Jersey business owners, including protecting them from criminal investigations, helping in business deals with foreign powers and meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping Egypt access $300 million in U.S. military aid. Menendez, who once chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned a month after his conviction. He had been in the Senate since 2006. Two business owners were also convicted last year along with Menendez. His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes from the business owners. Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 11. At his sentencing, Menendez's lawyers described how the son of Cuban immigrants emerged from poverty to become 'the epitome of the American Dream' — rising from mayor of Union City, New Jersey, to decades in Congress — before his conviction 'rendered him a national punchline.' 'Despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as Gold Bar Bob,' defense lawyer Adam Fee told the judge. Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press. AP reporter Michael Catalini in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.
