When New Jersey senator Robert Menendez was charged by federal prosecutors last year for conspiracy to act as a foreign agent while in office, most of the tabloid-perfect allegations involved Egyptian officials, with whom Menendez was trading favors for lavish gifts like cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes-Benz.
The scandal has now expanded in scope across the Red Sea. On Tuesday, federal prosecutors hit Menendez with a superseding indictment alleging that the senator was also aiding the Qatari government in exchange for expensive gifts. The indictment — which does not contain any new charges — claims that Menendez received luxury watches and tickets to Formula 1 races from real-estate developer Fred Daibes, who had already been indicted in connection with Menendez’s other alleged schemes back in the fall, in exchange for connecting him with the powerful Qatari Investment Company. As the state’s sovereign wealth fund was considering an investment with Daibes, Menendez made public statements praising Qatar. (Daibes eventually received Qatari backing for a project in Edgewater, New Jersey.) At one point, Daibes texted Menendez photographs of luxury watches ranging in price from $990 to $23,990, writing, “How about one of those?”
Federal prosecutors allege that the scheme continued into 2023 and that the senator received “bribes that benefitted him both directly, and indirectly through Nadine Menendez,” his wife. Both Nadine Menendez and Daibes were charged with enrichment schemes when Menendez was first indicted; all three have pleaded not guilty to the charges, and Senator Menendez’s trial is expected to begin on May 5.
