Anti-Bitcoin Senator Bob Menendez Found Guilty Of Corruption, Facing Decades Behind Bars

cryptonews.com:

New Jersey Senator and Bitcoin skeptic Bob Menendez was found guilty on all 16 counts tied to his federal corruption trial on Tuesday that saw him accused of accepting bribes and working as a foreign agent.

The damning verdict was reportedly decided by the 12-panel jury and delivered just three days after closing arguments in the case wrapped up.

“I am deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision,” Menedez told reporters in a statement outside Manhattan federal courthouse shortly after learning his fate. “I have every faith that the law and the facts did not sustain that decision and that we will be successful upon appeal. I have never violated my public oath.”

However, such success could very well elude the now convicted Democratic politician, with less than 1% of federal criminal defendants acquitted in 2022.

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey has been convicted in connection with a sweeping scheme to sell his office to foreign powers and crooked businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car and bars of solid gold. https://t.co/4Q0MxT76eA pic.twitter.com/z2a6vpzQxT

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 16, 2024

The one-time Senate Foreign Foreign Relations Council head was hit with a litany of charges, including bribery, extortion, and obstruction of justice, in an indictment released by the U.S. prosecutors last fall.

He stood accused of accepting bribes from several individuals connected to foreign governments and was even discovered with gold bars and bags of cash stashed in his home.

Several colleagues of the now disgraced U.S. lawmaker, who is currently seeking re-election as on the Independent Party ticket, have publicly urged him to step down in light of Tuesday’s news.

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