Ranking Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) and his wife Nadine Arslanian are under a federal investigation for alleged corruption according to sources familiar with the matter.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Menendez’s wife is being investigated for allegedly receiving gifts from people seeking political favors from her husband.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Sen. Bob Menendez's wife received gifts from those seeking favors from the New Jersey Democrat, people familiar with the matter said https://t.co/EjX9kvIyVs
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 18, 2022
The couple was subpoenaed to appear before a Southern District of New York attorney’s office.
The Journal reported that federal investigators also executed a search warrant at the home and office of Ms. Arslanian’s associate Mr. Wael Hana, the founder of IS EG Halal.
The Edgewater, N.J., company is “the only business allowed to certify halal meat being exported to Egypt,” WSJ reported.
The probe seeks to determine potential “undisclosed foreign lobbying” and possible violation of other federal laws. Mr. Hana was already fighting for the return of his property seized by the government.
This is hardly the first time the Cuban-American New Jersey politician is facing an investigation over alleged corruption. In 2017, he stood trial for allegedly receiving $1 million in gifts with the case ending in a mistrial.
Menendez and co-defendant Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist, accused of having an arrangement where the latter provided private jet flights and lavish vacations.
In return, the Harvard-trained ophthalmologist allegedly received assistance in government contracts and other political favors.
However, the eye doctor had earlier been convicted of Medicare fraud in 2017 before the corruption case that started in 2015 was thrown out.
Melgen, a longtime donor for Democrats, was suspected of making $73 million after convincing elderly people to undergo tests and treatments for diseases they did not have.
The court found him guilty on 67 counts in 2017 and sentenced him to jail for 17 years before he received clemency in 2021.
