Prosecutors expected to push on scheme to benefit Egypt as Bob Menendez's trial continues

Federal prosecutors are expected to dive into an alleged scheme in which Sen. Bob Menendez attempted to influence U.S. policy on Egypt as they continue to make their case in his corruption trial.

The trial, in which Menendez faces federal bribery and corruption charges, begins its second week Monday in U.S. District Court in lower Manhattan. Expected to last as long as seven weeks, it began last week with jury selection, opening statements and witness testimony.

Among the charges brought by the Southern District of New York against Menendez are bribery and extortion to benefit Egypt and Qatar. Menendez has been charged — in four successive indictments — alongside his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen — including one who has already pleaded guilty.

In opening arguments, a federal prosecutor last week portrayed Menendez as greedy, someone who used his wife as a go-between to arrange meetings with friends for bribes.

"This was not politics as usual. This was politics for profit," the prosecutor, Lara Pomerantz, told the jury.

Menendez and Arslanian Menendez allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars, gold bars and a luxury car in bribes from Wael Hana, Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe in exchange for helping them enrich themselves and trying to help them resolve legal troubles.

What we'll see in trial from the prosecutors

As the trial continues, prosecutors are expected to present three "corrupt promises" they say will show how Menendez used his power and influence in exchange for cash and gold bars:

• Prosecutors say Menendez promised to do things to benefit Hana and the Egyptian government, including some of his decisions on U.S. foreign policy and promising to approve billions of dollars in military aid to Egypt. Egyptian officials were given an inside track in Washington and given sensitive, non-public government information by Menendez.

• In exchange for a new Mercedes convertible, Menendez promised to disrupt a state criminal case targeting two people Hana knew.

• Menendez promised to try to influence a federal criminal case against Daibes.

"This evidence will come in piece by piece, and it won't come in perfect chronological order," Pomerantz said during opening statements. "But by the end of this trial, when you've seen and heard all of the evidence, you will see how it all fits together. You will see how it proves that Menendez put a price on his power and then sold it to Hana and Daibes."

Who's testifying?

The government expects to call "Witness-1," a former official with the U.S. Department of State, to provide background on the military aid the United States provided to Egypt from 2018 to 2023, on Monday. The testimony will provide background information and context to Menendez's ability to influence the process, according to court documents filed last week.

After 2018, Arslanian Menendez and Hana worked to introduce Egyptian intelligence and military officials to Menendez for the purpose of "establishing and solidifying" a corrupt agreement, with the assistance of Daibes and Uribe, who provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Menendez and his wife, the indictment alleges.

In exchange, Menendez allegedly acted and breached his duty to benefit the government of Egypt, Hana and others, including with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing.

Uribe isn't expected to testify this week, and court is scheduled to be in session only Monday and Tuesday, with a four-day break for Memorial Day. Uribe pleaded guilty to seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery and tax evasion, and is cooperating with the government.

Last week, jurors heard from FBI Special Agent Aristotelis Kougemitros, who was the team leader for the search warrant for Menendez's and Arslanian Menendez's Englewood Cliffs home.

Kougemitros reviewed the day in 2022 when agents confiscated 52 items from the home, including $486,462 in cash found stuffed in coats, envelopes, shoes and duffel bags, and 11 1-ounce gold bars and two 1-kilogram gold bars.

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The 'green and gold elephants' in the room

In his opening arguments, Menendez's lawyer, Avi Weitzman, largely focused on pointing fingers at Arslanian Menendez. Weitzman said she kept Menendez in the dark and that he didn't know of her financial troubles or dealings with Hana or Daibes.

Weitzman said there are "innocent explanations" for the gold and cash found.

Why did the senator search the internet for gold prices? That was Menendez searching for gold that he believed belonged to Arslanian Menendez's family, Weitzman told jurors. The cash? Menendez has been withdrawing for the last 30 years because of his family history, Weitzman said. Daibes' DNA on envelopes of cash and some of the gold bars? Daibes has been a friend of Menendez's for years, Weitzman said.

Friendships

Lawyers for Daibes and Hana painted similar pictures of gift-giving between longtime friends. Hana's attorney, Larry Lustberg, said loans and gifts were given to Arslanian Menendez because of their "brother and sister" relationship.

"Taking innocent, even good, positive acts, and trying to make them appear sinister and criminal," Lustberg said. "It's about criminalizing friendships, it's about criminalizing building a business, it's about criminalizing advocating for your native land, it's about criminalizing trying to do someone a favor, it's about criminalizing that which is not at all illegal."

Arslanian Menendez would lend money to Hana on occasions when he was struggling with business, Lustberg said. Gifts also included exercise equipment, jewelry, wine, phone cases, tequila, key lime pie, carpeting and an air purifier.

When Arslanian Menendez was struggling financially, her gifts were "more on the thoughtful side," while Hana's were "more generous."

Daibes' attorney, Cesar De Castro, also said the evidence will prove "long-lasting friendships, not corrupt relationships."

De Castro said he did not challenge that gold and cash were given to Menendez, "but what we do challenge is that gold or money was given to pay Senator Menendez to engage in any official senatorial acts."

A familiar defensive strategy

A 2017 investigation probed ties between Menendez and his longtime friend and donor Salomon Melgen. They stood trial in federal court in connection with alleged favors given to Melgen after he paid for trips and expenses for Menendez.

In that case, Menendez was accused of taking campaign donations and lavish trips from Melgen, a south Florida ophthalmologist. Menendez denied that the benefits from Melgen were bribes, and said the gifts came from a longtime personal friend. The senator's trial ended in a mistrial after that jury voted 10-2 for acquittal. Prosecutors eventually chose not to retry the case.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bob Menendez trial: Prosecutors to push on Egypt scheme