Senator Bob Menendez is facing new allegations of accepting gifts from Qatar for favorable comments about the government of Qatar, including tickets to Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix.
The Democrat from New Jersey and his wife Nadine Arslanian are facing four charges tied to the alleged bribery scheme, CBS News reports. The bribes were to facilitate a multi-million-dollar investment into a real estate project in New Jersey. The Qatari investor is also a member of the country’s royal family.
The gifts were ridiculously lavish. The indictment claims Menendez received a literal gold bar in 2022 after the deal was finalized and the Qatar investor signed a letter of intent to invest. The gift wasn’t completely unexpected as the senator Google searched “how much is one kilo of gold worth” after a trip to Qatar in 2021.
Despite the deal’s completion, Menendez continued to receive valuable gifts from the Qataris. The document mentions that he received tickets to the Formula 1 race in Miami. The senator didn’t attend the race himself, but the tickets were given to his relatives. Tickets for the South Florida event were $630 at their cheapest and easily soared into the thousands for higher-end seats.
These allegations are stacked on top of what was revealed in two previous indictments that date back to September last year. This includes the claim that Arslanian received a new Mercedes-Benz after destroying her car in a crash that killed a pedestrian. The Mercedes was believed to be a reward for Menendez pressuring the New Jersey attorney general’s office into dropping charges in an unrelated case.