(DCWatchdog.com) – A new report reveals the FBI and Justice Department are investigating Democrat U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and his wife for allegedly receiving “lavish gifts” from a halal meat company.
The report by The New York Times quotes two sources familiar with the matter, who say that the Democrat Senator’s family is suspected of accepting a Washington apartment and a luxury car from IS EG Halal.
The meat company is based in Edgewater, New Jersey, The Daily Caller reports. The firm itself is the subject of a criminal investigation.
Bob Menendez has been a member of the U.S. Senate from New Jersey since 2006.
He has faced similar bribery and corruption charges before. In 2017, he was charged with 14 counts, including fraud and bribery. The jury deadlocked, which led to a mistrial and the dropping of the charges. Menendez was reelected in 2018.
In 2019, IS EG Halal was proclaimed by Egypt’s government the exclusive authorized importer of halal from any global source.
At the time, the U.S. Agriculture Department warned that could spike meat prices in the country. Democrat Senator Bob Menendez is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Subsequently, the U.S. authorities searched the New Jersey firm and its president Wael Hana, seizing computers, cellphones, and documents, according to court filings.
The report says the probe into Menendez is linked to the investigation against IS EG Halal and the raid on its premises.
The company president Hana is Christian and has said in legal documents he didn’t have prior experience in certifying halal meat prepared under Muslim law.
Menendez has vowed to collaborate with the investigators, and his spokesman said he was optimistic about the probe.
“I am sure it is going to end up in absolutely nothing,” Menendez told NBC recently.
A spokesperson for the New Jersey Democrat officially rejected the claims that IS EG Halal gave gifts to the senator or his wife.
“IS EG Halal was awarded its halal certification contract with Egypt without any assistance whatsoever from Senator Menendez or any other U.S. public official,” the spokesperson said.
