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The Steakhouse Stakeout That Ensnared Bob Menendez

June 5, 2024 at 8:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “The couple who had arrived late appeared to be on a date. She was wearing a black dress, and during their meal he moved around their table and used a camera to, it appeared, snap her picture.”

“But in reality, court testimony on Tuesday showed, he was photographing the people behind her, seated at the senator’s table. The couple were members of an F.B.I. surveillance team, and they had deliberately sat near Mr. Menendez and his group, which also included an Egyptian government official.”

Filed Under: Corruption

Menendez’s ‘Blame-My-Wife Strategy’ Has Risks

May 30, 2024 at 2:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Prosecutors had called their first witness, and Senator Robert Menendez’s blame-my-wife strategy in his federal bribery trial already appeared vulnerable,” the New York Times reports.

“An FBI agent was testifying about a search of the New Jersey home that Mr. Menendez shares with his wife and the gold bars that were found inside a locked bedroom closet — bribes prosecutors say were paid to the couple in exchange for political favors by the senator.”

“Although the closet held women’s clothing, the agent said, a man’s blue blazer was also found hanging inside, seemingly tying Mr. Menendez to the gold and other alleged bribes.”

Filed Under: Corruption, Senate

Menendez Prosecutors Can’t Show ‘Critical’ Evidence

May 24, 2024 at 8:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Jurors in Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption case cannot see evidence prosecutors have called ‘critical’ to part of their case, a federal judge ruled Friday,” Politico reports.

“The decision puts a hole in prosecutors’ ability to prove their central claim: that the New Jersey Democrat took bribes to help send billions of dollars of American military aid to Egypt.”

Filed Under: Corruption


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Aide Cooperating with Corruption Probe Into Eric Adams

May 20, 2024 at 7:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“An aide to Mayor Eric Adams who served as his longtime liaison to the Turkish community and whose home was searched by the FBI has been cooperating with the corruption investigation into the mayor and his 2021 campaign,“ the New York Times reports.

“The cooperation of the aide, Rana Abbasova, could represent a significant development in the broad corruption inquiry, which has focused in part on whether Mr. Adams’s campaign conspired with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign donations into campaign coffers — and whether Mr. Adams pressured Fire Department officials to sign off on a new high-rise Turkish consulate despite safety concerns.”

Filed Under: City Hall, Corruption

Menendez Jurors Get to See the Gold Bars

May 17, 2024 at 7:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “With the corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey underway on Thursday, a prosecutor handed a juror in the first row of the jury box a plastic bag containing an object at the heart of the government’s case: a gold bar that glinted under the courtroom lights.”

Filed Under: Corruption

Jury Sworn In for Bob Menendez’s Trial

May 15, 2024 at 2:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A jury was selected and sworn in Wednesday for the bribery trial of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ),” ABC News reports.

“Federal prosecutors in New York have alleged that the New Jersey Democrat accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and a luxury convertible in exchange for the senator’s political clout. Three New Jersey businessmen who were also charged, along with the governments of Egypt and Qatar, were the alleged recipients.”

New York Times: “It is hard to overstate the significance of the case. For decades, the senator has been one of the most powerful Latino politicians and a leading voice on American foreign policy. Now, he is accused of betraying his oath of office to help foreign nations and associates in his home state for flashy bribes.”

Filed Under: Corruption, Senate

Vice Tightens on Henry Cuellar

May 14, 2024 at 7:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A third person with ties to U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar’s bribery case has pleaded guilty, according to a recently unsealed plea agreement, after the South Texas Democrat was accused of accepting nearly $600,000 in bribes from Azerbaijan and a Mexican bank,” the Texas Tribune reports.

Filed Under: Corruption

Bob Menendez Faces Another Corruption Trial

May 13, 2024 at 7:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“When Sen. Bob Menendez walked into a Newark federal courthouse for the first day of his 2017 corruption trial, so many reporters were watching him that the courthouse assigned them a spillover room. The spectacle didn’t last long,” Politico reports.

“Interest from the public and news media quickly waned after salacious allegations of Dominican sex workers, flights on private jets and scenes of luxurious villas gave way in the courtroom to technical details about Medicare reimbursements and credit card points to purchase a high-end grill. Jurors weren’t convinced he broke the law.”

“Now the government has another shot at the senior senator from New Jersey. This next trial, set to play out beginning Monday, promises to be consistently dramatic — and gives prosecutors who’ve eyed Menendez for at least two decades perhaps their best chance to convince a jury of his alleged corruption.”

New York Times: “It will be his second corruption trial in seven years, but unlike the first, which ended in a hung jury, there is a volatile and surprising new element: charges against Mr. Menendez’s wife.”

Washington Post: What to know about Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial.

USA Today: The Bob Menendez trial is starting. Why his Senate colleagues don’t want to talk about it.

Filed Under: Corruption, Senate

Bob Menendez’s Corruption Trial Begins This Week

May 12, 2024 at 12:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Bars of gold, stacks of cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and foreign intelligence officials could all make cameo appearances.”

“Federal prosecutors allege that Menendez and his wife were being bribed with those gifts by New Jersey businessmen who sought the lawmaker’s help paving the way for lucrative deals they had lined up with the governments of Egypt and Qatar.”

Politico: “To prove their case, prosecutors will need to tie those gold bars to things the senator is alleged to have done to receive them.”

Filed Under: Corruption

Menendez’s Corruption Trial Begins Next Week

May 6, 2024 at 5:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Bob Menendez will be allowed to argue at his federal corruption trial that he thought he was acting for the ‘good of the public’ when helping Egypt and Qatar, while prosecutors will be able to present evidence to the jury that they allege shows the lawmaker and his wife took bribes in a scheme involving the foreign governments to fund their lavish lifestyle.” CNN reports.
 

Filed Under: Corruption, Senate

The Critical Difference that Could Save Henry Cuellar

May 6, 2024 at 5:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Rep. Henry Cuellar’s (D-TX) indictment marks the third high-profile Hispanic lawmaker to have been indicted in recent months,” Politico reports.

“Critically, the influential Congressional Hispanic Caucus is coming to his defense.”

“That’s a marked difference from how the group treated Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a fellow member who was indicted on charges that he and his wife accepted bribes in forms of cash, a car and gold bars to help aid the Egyptian government. Generally, the CHC has stayed far away from Menendez’s issues, but they’re explicitly defending Cuellar — who’s also accused of accepting bribes to help a foreign government.”

Filed Under: Corruption, House of Representatives

Ex-Michigan Speaker Pleads Not Guilty

May 2, 2024 at 8:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Michigan House speaker Lee Chatfield (R) and his wife “pleaded not guilty Thursday to financial charges arising from an investigation of how they spent money from unregulated political funds,” the AP reports.

They are accused of using money for personal travel, housing and other benefits when he was in office.

Filed Under: Corruption

Ex-Michigan Speaker Charged with Misusing Political Funds

April 17, 2024 at 9:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) unveiled 13 criminal charges against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R), “saying he had flagrantly misused nonprofit dollars to pay off his personal credit card and fund purchases at wineries and luxury retail stores,” the Detroit News reports.

Filed Under: Corruption

Menendez Poised to Blame His Wife in Bribery Case

April 16, 2024 at 9:52 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) “is prepared to blame his wife at his bribery trial for withholding information from him about gifts they allegedly accepted from businessmen seeking favors, a newly unsealed court document shows,” Bloomberg reports.

“The revelation came Tuesday in a portion of a March court filing in which lawyers for the New Jersey Democrat asked a US judge to try him separately from his wife, Nadine. They are accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold bars and a car to help three businessmen and the Egyptian government. Menendez is also accused of acting as a foreign agent of Egypt.”

Filed Under: Corruption

Cash at Menendez Home Was Not From His Bank

April 14, 2024 at 3:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“When Senator Robert Menendez was charged last year with corruption after investigators found $486,000 in cash stashed around his house in New Jersey, he offered a simple, ‘old-fashioned’ explanation: It had been his custom to withdraw cash from a personal savings account to keep at home, a habit he learned from his Cuban immigrant parents,” the New York Times reports.

“But federal prosecutors, in papers filed late Friday, presented fresh details that they suggested undercut Mr. Menendez’s claim. Some of the cash was wrapped in bands showing it had been withdrawn, at least $10,000 at a time, from a bank where Mr. Menendez and his wife ‘had no known depository account.'”

“This, prosecutors said, indicated ‘that the money had been provided to them by another person.'”

Filed Under: Corruption

Menendez Trial Still Set for May

April 11, 2024 at 2:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial will start in May — without his wife,” Politico reports.

“A federal judge on Thursday refused to delay the trial because of health issues facing Nadine Menendez, who asked to postpone the trial because of an unspecified ‘serious medical condition.'”

Filed Under: Corruption

FBI Examining Free Airfare Upgrades Received by Adams

April 5, 2024 at 12:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Federal authorities investigating Mayor Eric Adams’s campaign fund-raising have been examining valuable flight upgrades they believe he received from Turkish Airlines that elevated him to its highest class of seats available on international trips,” the New York Times reports.

“The scrutiny is part of a broad corruption inquiry that has already led the FBI to search the homes of the former top New York-based executive of Turkish Airlines and aides to Mr. Adams, who has frequently traveled abroad and has made no secret of his affinity for flying on the Turkish carrier.”

Filed Under: City Hall, Corruption

Menendez’s Quieter Corruption

March 30, 2024 at 1:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ryan Cooper: “The sheer comical excess of the Menendez indictment illustrates how rampant political corruption is in this country. The reason people getting nailed by law enforcement for corruption tend to be people with literal gold bars and stacks of cash sewn into their jackets is because of Supreme Court decisions making it impossible to prosecute instances of corruption that are somewhat more deniable.”

“In McDonnell v. U.S., the Court unanimously overturned the conviction of a former Virginia governor and his wife who had set up meetings with officials for a pharmaceutical company while taking valuable gifts from the company’s owner. In FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate, it ruled that candidates can loan their campaigns money, and then pay themselves back with donor cash after the election is over and the victor is known—effectively opening a window labeled ‘bribes here.’ And in Citizens United v. FEC, of course, they legalized effectively limitless corporate spending in politics…”

“So while Menendez was doing the kind of idiotic corruption that actually may have run afoul of the remaining shreds of anti-corruption law, now he is taking advantage of a more subtle variety: spending his campaign money on his legal bills. Should he actually contest the Senate election this year, he is absolutely certain to lose—a recent poll found him with 75 percent disapproval among New Jersey residents—and he’s already given up on seeking re-election as a Democrat. But pretending to be running allows him to spend his remaining campaign funds on his legal defense.”

Filed Under: Campaign Finance, Corruption

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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