Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.Y.) is beneath investigation by the Justice Division more than high priced gifts he allegedly received from a New Jersey company.
The gifts integrated a luxury apartment in Washington, a Mercedes-Benz, revenue and jewelry, all worth tens of thousands of dollars, sources told NBC New York. The DOJ suspects that the gifts to Menendez had been offered to Edgewater IS EG Halal, which won the Egyptian government contract in spite of complaints that the company did not have the acceptable encounter. The New Jersey Democrat serves as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and oversees billions in help to the Egyptian government.
Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.Y.) speaks to reporters at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, March 15, 2023.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
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“I am confident it will finish in certainly nothing at all,” Menendez stated of the allegations final week.
Nonetheless, some suspect that the contract was offered by Menendez in a quid pro quo scheme. Damian Williams, U.S. Lawyer for the Southern District of New York, and FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation agents are functioning on the investigation.
None of the things seem on Menendez’s Senate disclosure types. A specific criminal investigation by the tax administration is underway to identify regardless of whether the gifts had been correctly recorded in the tax returns.
IS EG Halal won a halal meat certification contract with the Egyptian government in 2019 — seven organizations worldwide had been fired from the function at the very same time. Edgewater is run by a Christian and seems to have no prior encounter in Islamic Halal certification, which has raised suspicions amongst numerous.
“It defies logic,” stated Peter Paradis, a former deputy assistant inspector basic at the Division of Agriculture. “This corporation has no encounter in performing these sorts of certifications — and however the nation in query designates them as the only entity to execute the activity?”
IS EG Һalal has maintained his innocence, denying any wrongdoing.
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“Allegations of vehicles, apartments, money and jewelry becoming offered by anybody related with IS EG Halal to Senator Menendez or his wife in basic, let alone in exchange for any type of favorable therapy, are totally baseless,” stated Wael Hana, an IS spokesman. EG Halal.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Menendez for comment.