Afrasianet - If  one of President Trump's descriptions is characterized by greed and love of money, many front-line leaders in the United States have the same qualities.

The wife of former US Senator Bob Menendez has been convicted in a bribery trial. Nadine Menendez, 58, is guilty of bribery and fraud related to her husband's influence for Egypt. Nadine Menendez, wife of former US Senator Robert Menendez, has reached a federal court for bribery trial in New York City, USA. 

Nadine Menendez, the wife of former US Senator Bob Menendez, has been convicted of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for trying to use her husband's influence for Egyptian officials and New Jersey businessmen. Nadine Menendez, 58, was convicted of all fifteen charges she faced, including bribery, electronic fraud in honest services and conspiracy to hire a public servant as a foreign agent. U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein will sentence her in Manhattan on June 12. The conviction comes after Bob Menendez, a Democrat who represented New Jersey for 18 and a half years, was sentenced in January to 11 years in prison. Acting U.S. District Attorney in Manhattan Matthew Podolsky said in a statement Monday after the verdict: "Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez were accomplices." "Together, Nadine Menendez and the senator put their personal interests and greed above the interests of the citizens whom I elected the senator to serve," he added. Outside the court, Menendez, who pleaded not guilty, wore a pink mask as she stood next to her lawyer, Barry Coburn, who said was "devastated by the verdict".

"We fought hard, and it hurts," he said. It's a tough day for us." U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, D-NJ, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, arrived in federal court for a hearing in New York City on bribery charges.

Bob Menendez, the former influential chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was convicted in July on charges related to efforts to speed up Egypt's access to U.S. military aid, as well as interfering in domestic trials of businessmen in exchange for bribes that included gold, cash and a Mercedes-Benz. 

Bob Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate the following month. The evidence, presented to the jury during a three-week trial, included a timeline of a stormy romance between the couple, which began in early 2018 and continued after criminal charges were filed against them in September 2023.
Nadine Menendez was due to go on trial with her husband for her alleged role in his scheme, but her trial was postponed after her lawyers said she needed treatment for breast cancer. Prosecutors said that businessman Wael Hanna of New Jersey arranged meetings between the senator and Egyptian officials, who pressed him to approve military aid.

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In contrast, prosecutors stated that the businessman put Nadine Menendez on the payroll of a company he controlled. Prosecutors also added that Hana and Nadine Menendez had passed on requests and directives from Egyptian officials to the senator. 

Hana was convicted along with Bob Menendez, and sentenced to just over eight years in prison. 

Businessman Farid Daibes was also convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison. Prosecutors said Daibes wanted the senator to protect him from a criminal case he was facing in New Jersey. Prosecutors added that the couple also received a Mercedes-Benz from businessman Jose Uribe in exchange for Bob Menendez using his influence to pressure the New Jersey attorney's office to stop investigating some of Uribe's associates. 

Menendez was the first U.S. senator in the country's history to be convicted of spying for a foreign entity.