Former Senator Bob Menendez has already made history by being the first United States Senator ever to be convicted of being a foreign agent. He would make history again when he received the harshest sentence ever given to a US Senator.
The disgraced New Jersey Democrat was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Ooof…
Disgraced ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in bribery case https://t.co/P94QOoJ4Ut
— Kevin Corke (@kevincorke) January 29, 2025
Menendez burst into tears when he asked US District Judge Sidney Stein for leniency.
“I have lost everything,” he said. “Other than family, I have lost everything I care about. Every day I am awake is punishment. I am far from a perfect man… in half-century of public service, I have done far more good than bad.”
Prosecutors had requested Menendez to be imprisoned for 15 years.
Prosecutors had requested a 15-year sentence for Menendez, 71, after he was convicted in July 2024 on 16 counts of bribery, extortion, conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He is the first U.S. senator in American history to be convicted of working as a foreign agent. His co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were also sentenced to eight years and seven years, respectively.
“As proven at trial, the defendants engaged, for years, in a corruption and foreign influence scheme of stunning brazenness, breadth, and duration, resulting in exceptionally grave abuses of power at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch of the United States Government,” prosecutors wrote.
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The Judge said that he ‘Took no pleasure’ in handing down the 11-year sentence.
“You are quite right about your work. You worked your way up to a senator, to the chair of foreign relations committee,” Stein told Menendez. “You were successful, powerful, stood at the apex of our political system. All letters are proof. Somewhere along the way, you lost your way.”
After the sentencing, Menendez took a much more defiant tone, calling the court corrupt to its core and hoping President Trump would clean up the cesspool.
Former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez following his sentencing:
“President Trump is right. This process is political. … I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores integrity to the system.”
Menendez ignored questions regarding whether he was seeking a pardon. pic.twitter.com/SXWT8lOMIr— Shlomo Schorr (@OneJerseySchorr) January 29, 2025
His lawyers said they would appeal the conviction.
Ol’ Bob should have learned that if you’re going to take bribes or sell influence to get offshore accounts and create shell companies for your gold bars instead of putting them in your bedroom closet. https://t.co/aZIASqGinD
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) January 29, 2025
How much more can the Democrats absorb. They are on the ropes and it seems likely the exposure of corruption will only increase in the months ahead
— Brad Smith (@HillbilyHeroe) January 29, 2025
We honestly hope that all of the corruption in the federal government will be exposed and eliminated in the coming months.
Looks like Senator Menendez finally got his just deserts, not the sweet kind you get with a spoonful of socialism, but the hard time kind that comes with a side of accountability. Maybe next time he’ll think twice before trading his integrity for a shiny car and some gold bars.…
— Intuition (@intuit_analysis) January 29, 2025
‘Gold Bar Bob,’ as his defense attorney called him, has become the poster boy for government corruption.
He’s going to have 11 long years to think about it.
