US ex-senator Menendez surrenders to serve 11-year sentence Over Corruption

Former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez surrendered at a federal prison in Pennsylvania to begin serving an 11-year sentence following his conviction on bribery charges.

Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey aged 71, has described the sentence as a "life and death sentence" given his age, Caliber.Az reports, citing an American broadcast TV network.

He has made unsuccessful attempts to obtain a pardon or commutation from Presidents Joe Biden and Donald Trump.

Once the senior senator from New Jersey and chair of the influential Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez was found guilty in July of participating in a bribery scheme that rewarded him and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with hundreds of thousands of pounds in gold bars and cash.

Prosecutors claimed Menendez accepted payments from New Jersey businessmen in return for actions benefiting them and the governments of Egypt and Qatar.

The bribes included gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz given to Nadine Menendez, and over $480,000 in cash, which the FBI discovered hidden in closets and clothing bearing Menendez’s name during a 2022 search of his New Jersey residence.

He was convicted of extortion, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and acting as a foreign agent.

Nadine Menendez was convicted separately and is due to be sentenced in September. Her trial was delayed to allow her to undergo cancer treatment. Menendez was permitted to postpone his surrender date to support her during her trial.

An appeal to remain free while appealing his conviction was denied last week by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Allies of Menendez have sought a pardon or commutation from Trump, but these efforts have been unsuccessful. Trump has granted pardons in several public corruption cases since returning to office in January, but these have been given only to his supporters.

Menendez, an outspoken critic of Trump during his presidency and who voted to impeach him twice, has said he is the victim of a political "witch hunt" and "weaponization" by the Justice Department, echoing language used by Trump during his own prosecutions.

He will serve his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill, a medium-security prison with an adjacent minimum-security camp.

By Aghakazim Guliyev