Indicted Senator Menendez Allegedly Provided ‘Sensitive’ Info to Egyptian Government
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine Menendez were indicted on federal bribery charges alongside three New Jersey businessmen Friday morning.
Among the most damning charges in the indictment is that the senator “promised to and did use his influence and power and breach his official duty in ways that benefited the Government of Egypt” as well as the three businessmen. One of the three, Wael Hana, is accused of serving as the primary liaison between the couple and Egyptian government.
The court filing reads:
Among other actions, MENENDEZ provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt. MENENDEZ also improperly advised and pressured an official at the United States Department of Agriculture for the purpose of protecting a business monopoly granted to HANA by Egypt and used in part to fund the bribes being paid to MENENDEZ through NADINE MENENDEZ.
It goes on to describe the scheme in more detail:
In or about early 2018,NADINE MENENDEZ, a/k/a Nadine Arslanian, the defendant, informed WAEL HANA, a/k/a Will Hana, the defendant, that she was dating ROBERT MENENDEZ, the defendant. In the following months and years, HANA and NADINE MENENDEZ worked to introduce Egyptian intelligence and military officials to MENENDEZ for the purpose of establishing and solidifying a corrupt agreement in which HANA, with assistance from FRED DAIBES and JOSE URIBE, the defendants, provided hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to MENENDEZ and NADINE MENENDEZ, in exchange for MENENDEZ’s acts and breaches of duty to benefit the Government of Egypt, HANA, and others, including with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing
Menendez is and has been the lead Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since 2013. He is alleged to have texted “sensitive, non-public embassy information to his then-girlfriend NADINE MENENDEZ.”
In another indiscretion, Menendez is accused of telling Nadine Menendez “Tell [Will HANA] I am going to sign off this sale to Egypt today. Egypt: 46,000 120MM Target Practice Rounds and 10,000 Rounds Tank Ammunition: $ 99 million.”
She allegedly proceeded to forward that message to Hana, who sent it to an Egyptian official who “replied with a ‘thumbs-up’ emoji.”
The Menendez clan did reportedly express concern about the arrangement at one point, specifically about their lack of payment:
WAEL HANA, a/k/a Will Hana, the defendant, repeatedly promised NADINE MENENDEZ, a/k/a Nadine Arslanian, the defendant, payments, including through a low-or no-show job, from IS EG Halal Certified, Inc. (“IS EG Halal”), a New Jersey company that HANA operated with financial support and backing from FRED DAIBES, the defendant, in furtherance of the scheme. However, IS EG Halal had little to no revenue between in or about 2018 and in or about early 2019,and HANA did not deliver on his promises to make those payments during this time period.
After several months of nonpayment following the initial March 2018 meeting described in paragraph 12.a, above, NADINE MENENDEZ, a/k/a Nadine Arslanian, the defendant, complained to multiple associates of WAEL HANA, a/k/a Will Hana, the defendant, about HANA’s failure to pay her, and caused at least one of them to believe that ROBERT MENENDEZ, the defendant, would cease acting for HANA’s benefit and at his request, including with respect to Egypt, unless HANA came through on his promises and paid her. NADINE MENENDEZ also complained directly to MENENDEZ about HANA’s as-yet unfulfilled promises, writing, “I have been so upset all morning. Will left for Egypt yesterday supposedly and now thinks he’s king of the world and has both countries wrapped around his pinky. I really hope they replace him.”
In another instance in 2019, Nadine Menendez again texted the senator to lodge a complaint about Hana’s failure to pay up. “I am sooooo upset,” she wrote, before “stating that HANA had not left her an envelope, and remarking, ‘I thought Fred [DAIBES] would make sure it’s there and the second day in a row there is nothing.'”
Per the indictment, “NADINE MENENDEZ also wrote, ‘I thought after everything that happened especially last Saturday and that week [referring to meetings MENENDEZ had with senior Egyptian officials] that at least he would honor his word one time I don’t know if I should text Fred [DAIBES] or wait what should I do?’ MENENDEZ responded, ‘No, you should not text or email.'”
