Nayib Bukele Reacts to Bitcoin Critic’s Indictment with Laughter
President Nayib Bukele responded humorously to a social media post on March 7, highlighting the legal troubles of one of his country’s prominent critics in Capitol Hill. Bukele quoted a post on X (formerly Twitter) with a laughing emoji.
The post detailed Senator Bob Menendez’s indictment, adding a touch of irony to the situation. Senator Menendez, a vocal critic of El Salvador’s Bitcoin policy, is facing bribery and obstruction of justice charges in the US.
Senator Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged in a new 18-count indictment, including obstruction of justice. These charges suggest that the senator and his spouse conspired to obstruct justice and conceal bribe payments that the senator was previously accused of.
According to prosecutors, the pair allegedly instructed their attorneys to tell investigators that certain payments made on behalf of Nadine were in loans, knowingly disguising them as bribes.
These payments are linked to Nadine’s house mortgage and another payment for her Mercedes-Benz. The obstruction accusations may stem from the recent guilty plea of co-defendant Jose Uribe, a New Jersey businessman who confessed to providing Nadine with bribes in exchange for the Senator’s favor.
Prosecutors are accusing Menendez of receiving multiple gift items, including luxury watches and gold bars, in exchange for helping Uribe and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. The New Jersey Senator has pleaded not guilty to either of the charges, and the trial is scheduled for May.
Moreover, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee disclosed that Menendez had lent his support to legislation to mitigate the risks of El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption.
El Salvador, the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in June
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