Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) appeared to try to appeal to President Donald Trump for a potential pardon on Wednesday outside of a federal courthouse in Manhattan after he was sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after being convicted in a corruption case.
“This whole process has been nothing but a political witch hunt by the Justice Department, NSD, and prosecutors, who are more interested in political scalps, and preparing to run for public office, like Damian Williams,” he alleged. “Welcome to the Southern District of New York, the wild west of political prosecutions.”
“President Trump is right,” he continued. “This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up this cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.”
Some stunning remarks from Menendez outside court: “President Trump was right. This process is political, and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.” pic.twitter.com/woFgHgFGqM
— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) January 29, 2025
Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison and was forced to forfeit more than $920,000 after he was convicted over the summer on 16 felony counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, two counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, two counts of bribery, three counts of honest services wire fraud, three counts of extortion under color of official right, conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent, public official acting as foreign agent, and obstruction of justice.
Menendez accepted bribes from three businessmen in exchange for actions that he took as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. According to the Department of Justice, the alleged bribes were intended to protect the businessmen and to benefit Egypt.
Prosecutors later said in a revised indictment that Menendez also allegedly used his clout to help a friend secure a multi-million dollar investment deal from the Qatari government, in part by taking actions that benefited Qatar.
Two of the co-conspirators in the case who made the bribes, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were sentenced to more than eight years and seven years in prison, respectively.
Menendez’s wife Nadine was also charged in the case, but her trial has been repeatedly delayed as she battles breast cancer.
