[bitontheslide]

New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez has been indicted for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, according to the Justice Department.

Prosecutors say Mr Menendez and his wife accepted gold bars and envelopes of cash from New Jersey businessmen.

The senator and his wife accepted the money to "benefit the government of Egypt", prosecutors claim.

The charges come after a years-long Justice Department investigation.

The pair each face three criminal counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

Prosecutors allege Mr Menendez and his wife Nadine accepted bribes including cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage and a luxury vehicle from three New Jersey men: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.

They did so in exchange for using Mr Menendez's influence and power as a senator to protect the three businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt, according to the indictment.

Federal agents executed search warrants at Mr Menendez's home and found evidence of the bribery agreements, including over $480,000 (£391,000) in cash, much of which was "stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe", prosecutors allege.

Agents said they also found a luxury vehicle paid for by Mr Uribe parked in the garage, as well as $100,000 of gold bars in the home, pictures of which were included in the indictment.

Speaking at a news conference on Friday announcing the charges, prosecutors quoted from Mr Menendez's website, in which he details the limits of his power as a legislator. For instance, Mr Menendez said he could not compel an agency to act in someone's favour or get involved in criminal matters or cases.

"Behind the scenes, Senator Menendez was doing those things for certain people - the people who were bribing him in his wife," said Damian Williams, the US Attorney for Southern District of New York.

The BBC has reached out to Mr Menendez's office for comment.

Mr Menendez, 69, is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee and was elected to a third term in the Senate in 2018.

In the indictment, prosecutors allege Mr Menendez's wife Nadine worked with one of the three New Jersey businessmen, Mr Hana, to introduce the senator to Egyptian intelligence and military officials. Mr Hana - who is originally from Egypt - exchanged thousands of text messages with Ms Menendez, which she deleted from her cell phone, according to prosecutors.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66893936

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It's everywhere

[arista]

Corrupt Democrats

[The Slim Reaper]

Originally Posted by arista

Corrupt people

Fixed

Jared got $2billion from the Saudis. Prince Charles gets bags of money from the Saudis. Throw money at people, and they'll do whatever you want. That's why capital and corporate interests are destroying everything.

[arista]

Originally Posted by The Slim Reaper

Fixed

Jared got $2billion from the Saudis. Prince Charles gets bags of money from the Saudis. Throw money at people, and they'll do whatever you want. That's why capital and corporate interests are destroying everything.

Yes Big Cash.

[LeatherTrumpet]

That lady looks like a you know what

[bitontheslide]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

That lady looks like a you know what

a million dollars?

[LeatherTrumpet]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

a million dollars?

im sure she does not charge that much

[James]

Isn't this standard practice in US politics?

What is the difference between lobbying (legal) and bribery (illegal)?

I googled it...

.....Bribery vs. Lobbying: An Overview
Bribery and lobbying are often conjoined in the public mind: Critics of lobbying suggest that it's bribery in a suit. While both seek a favorable outcome, the two remain distinct practices. Bribery is considered an effort to buy power; paying to guarantee a certain result; lobbying is considered an effort to influence power, often by offering contributions.

One key difference is that bribery is considered illegal, while lobbying is not.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
Lobbying is the organizing of a group of like-minded people, industries, or entities to influence an authoritative body or lawmaking individual, often through financial contributions.

Bribery involves the payment of something—either money or goods or an intangible favor—in the subversion of normal practices, for gain or special treatment, or in order to get an advantage.

In the U.S., lobbying is legal, while bribery is not.

Bribery is an effort to buy power, while lobbying is just an effort to influence it; but admittedly, the distinction between the two can be opaque.....

From https://www.investopedia.com/financi...x#toc-lobbying

[bitontheslide]

We've had a couple of memorable brown envelope bribes here too. Geoffrey Archer and then that tory mp and his wife

[Zizu]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

We've had a couple of memorable brown envelope bribes here too. Geoffrey Archer and then that tory mp and his wife

Plus Big Sam and Harry Redknapp ( allegedly)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Swan]

Originally Posted by The Slim Reaper

Fixed

Jared got $2billion from the Saudis. Prince Charles gets bags of money from the Saudis. Throw money at people, and they'll do whatever you want. That's why capital and corporate interests are destroying everything.

Fair, but you agree both major political parties, the blues and the reds, this side of the pond, and in the great county of America are all so crooked?

Like i said in my post in the Brand thread. 99% of politicians don't give a fcuk about the people they supposedly serve.

I will never, ever vote, unless there's some kind of revolutionary party that pops up, and who changed the face of the current political system we have here.

I used like Wes as you know, but his veil is rapidly slipping. I don't trust any of them!

[The Slim Reaper]

Originally Posted by Swan

Fair, but you agree both major political parties, the blues and the reds, this side of the pond, and in the great county of America are all so crooked?

Like i said in my post in the Brand thread. 99% of politicians don't give a fcuk about the people they supposedly serve.

I will never, ever vote, unless there's some kind of revolutionary party that pops up, and who changed the face of the current political system we have here.

I used like Wes as you know, but his veil is rapidly slipping. I don't trust any of them!

That's even a question that needs an answer? Wherever lobbyists or corporate interests meet politicians, then people suffer.

Check out the starmer thread, and you will see no one as critical of labour as I am.

[Swan]

Originally Posted by The Slim Reaper

That's even a question that needs an answer? Wherever lobbyists or corporate interests meet politicians, then people suffer.

Check out the starmer thread, and you will see no one as critical of labour as I am.

Yeah i've seen some of what you've said in the thread. One of my best mates says he'll always vote Labour as the Tories will always be the lesser of two evils to him, which i understand. I just can't bring myself to vote for Labour right now. Not sure your current stance on voting?

[The Slim Reaper]

Originally Posted by Swan

Yeah i've seen some of what you've said in the thread. One of my best mates says he'll always vote Labour as the Tories will always be the lesser of two evils to him, which i understand. I just can't bring myself to vote for Labour right now. Not sure your current stance on voting?

My current stance is my permanent stance. I don't vote for right wing parties, so I won't be voting for labour. I will vote green, in the hope that others do. A progressive party doing well might give the austerity parties something to think about.