Former Senator Bob Menendez was handed an 11-year prison term for accepting bribes, including gold bars, and foreign agent offenses, in return for political favors on Wednesday.
What Happened: U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein pronounced the sentence, following the former democratic senator’s conviction in July 2024 after a nine-week jury trial, according to a press release shared by the Department of Justice.
Aside from Menendez, the court sentenced businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Diabies to 97 months and seven years in jail, respectively, for bribing the former lawmaker.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes from Hana and Diablies in the form of gold, cash, and a luxury convertible, the indictment read.
In exchange for these, the erstwhile New Jersey senator used his power and influence to endeavor to protect their business interests and took actions that benefited the government of Egypt.
Charges against Nadine Menendez are still pending. Her corruption trial is set for Mar. 18.
See Also: Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev Pushes For Tokenization To Unlock Private Companies Like SpaceX And OpenAI For More Investors
Why It Matters: Menendez, who chaired the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, resigned from the Senate in August.
Interestingly, Menendez was a vocal critic of Bitcoin BTC/USD, deeming it an “ideal choice for criminals” in a letter to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
Menendez had also co-sponsored legislation to mitigate the risks of El Salvador's adoption of Bitcoin. He infamously said, “Bitcoin can open the doors of corruption in El Salvador.”
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele reacted to Menendez’s conviction, writing, “The thief judges by his condition" in an X post.
Photo by lev radin on Shutterstock
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