Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) is under federal investigation for allegedly accepting a luxury car and apartment from a halal meat company.
Federal agents are investigating whether Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian received the gifts from IS EG Halal, a New Jersey company that won an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to certify halal meat exports to the country, a decision that attracted scrutiny because the business is run by a Christian and lacks experience in halal certification. Now law enforcement is working to determine whether Menendez, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that dishes out billions of dollars to Egypt, took action in the Senate to benefit the company in exchange for gifts.
"I am sure it is going to end up in absolutely nothing," Menendez told NBC News last week. News of a federal investigation into the senator broke in November. The investigation dates back to 2019, when Egypt made the decision to grant IS EG Halal the exclusive contract.
Menendez was previously tried in 2017 in a public-corruption case, which ended in a mistrial. He was tried for allegedly taking $1 million in gifts—including private flights and trips—from a Florida doctor who wanted help with visas.