Credit: (AP Photo/Seth Wenig) July 16, 2024: Sen. Bob Menendez leaves federal court in New York.
WASHINGTON — New donations that former Sen. Bob Menendez could have used in his federal corruption case have been permanently stopped, newly filed records show.
Mr. Menendez’s main campaign account received no donations from July to September, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday night.
Over the past three months, the campaign received about $27,000 in bank transfers but spent about $1.79 million, primarily in legal fees. That’s more than the $1.54 million in cash the campaign reported leaving behind.
Campaign funds also paid for meals at upscale restaurants, transportation and lodging at a Manhattan hotel near the courthouse where Menendez went to trial this summer.
A separate defense fund for Mr. Menendez received no contributions in July and August, the most recent period available, according to documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service.
trial
After a New York jury found him guilty of violating federal corruption laws, Menendez said he intended to appeal the verdict and maintained his innocence, but the former senator is not independently wealthy and the lawsuit Funds to advance the project are running out.
A jury found Menendez guilty of accepting bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for political acts benefiting the Egyptian and Qatari governments.
As part of a multi-year scheme run by the former senator with his wife Nadine and three businessmen, Menendez acted as a foreign agent, providing information to foreign intelligence officials and serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. used its role to influence the arms trade. the prosecutor said.
“I am extremely disappointed in the jury’s decision,” Menendez said after the verdict. “I have never been a foreign agent.”
Federal prosecutors filed similar lawsuits this year against New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Texas Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar, but the lawsuit, like Menendez’s, also accused elected officials of The focus was on how he allegedly used his position to benefit foreign governments and line his own pockets.
Menendez faces several years in prison if convicted, and was scheduled to be sentenced on October 29.
In late September, Judge Sidney Stein postponed Menendez’s sentencing to January 29.
Mr. Menendez’s friends submitted written statements on his behalf in an effort to secure a lenient sentence.
Huge fees for law firms
More than half of the money Menendez’s campaign spent in July, August and September went to legal costs, including about $1.15 million to the Jones Day firm.
Law firm Paul Hastings was paid $250,000 and McDermott Will & Emery was paid $23,555.
Politicians have wide discretion over how and for what purposes they can use their campaign accounts.
Aggressive federal campaigns that raise and spend money even when no one is actually running (so-called “zombie” accounts) are common in American politics, and New Jersey politicians routinely run for Congress. have used the funds raised to further their own political goals. in New Jersey.
various assets
Menendez’s financial assets include a $250,001 to $500,000 bank account at Senate Credit Union, which he shares with his wife, a pension plan in New Jersey and a $250,000 loan in Union City, according to his latest financial disclosure statement. Includes residential real estate valued at $500,000 to $500,000. .
He also receives a federal pension, which will expire if he discontinues the appeal process.
Mr. Menendez’s campaign account also spent $13,104.05 in seven transactions at Manhattan’s four-star Millennium Downtown New York Hotel with panoramic views. It is also close to the courthouse where his trial was held.
Morton’s Steakhouse on Connecticut Avenue in Washington also received a $240.98 payment from the Menendez campaign in July.
FBI agents testified in court that they had been surveilling the Menendez couple at Morton’s, a longtime favorite hangout of the former senator, as part of a government investigation.
