Menendez advocated for ally’s company because it was ‘good for New Jersey,’ lawyer says

Sen. Bob Menendez's corruption trial in Manhattan began its fourth week Monday — the same day Menendez filed paperwork in Trenton to seek reelection in November. (Dana DiFilippo | New Jersey Monitor)

The fourth week of Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial kicked off Monday with the senator’s lawyers attempting to discredit a former federal official’s testimony that the senator told him to stop investigating a New Jersey company owned by a Menendez ally.

Prosecutors have alleged Menendez had a keen interest in the company because its owner was bribing him . But Menendez attorney Adam Fee on Monday used his cross-examination of the ex-official to argue that Menendez, as New Jersey’s senior senator, was merely advocating for a Garden State company.

“He was … saying, I care about a New Jersey business because it’s good for New Jersey — and there is nothing wrong with that, right?” Fee asked the official at one point.

Monday was the 12th day of Menendez’s trial , where he is accused of accepting gold bars, cash, and other items in exchange for his intervention in criminal prosecutions, disbursements of military aid, and international negotiations. Businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes are standing trial with him. Menendez’s wife, Nadine, is similarly accused and will be tried separately. Jose Uribe, a fifth defendant, has pleaded guilty.

The day also represented an important one for Menendez’s political future. While Menendez was in court Monday, his allies were in Trenton filing the paperwork necessary for him to seek reelection in November as an independent candidate , potentially upending the search for his replacement. Rep. Andy Kim, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination for Menendez’s seat, attacked the senator for putting his own personal benefit “ahead of what’s right for the country.”

But back in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan federal courthouse in Manhattan, Fee was sparring with Ted McKinney, a former agriculture undersecretary who testified Friday that he and other federal officials were alarmed that Hana’s company — IS EG Halal — in 2019 won exclusive rights to certify that beef exported to Egypt was prepared according to the country’s standards.

Fee noted an email from a federal agriculture official stationed in Cairo that said Egypt was unsatisfied with the companies that had been certifying halal beef exports prior to IS EG Halal’s involvement and didn’t share the same concerns about IS EG Halal that federal officials like McKinney had expressed. McKinney said he was not aware of the email.

Fee and McKinney also debated McKinney’s testimony that Menendez called him in 2019 and, in a serious and curt tone, told McKinney to stop interfering with IS EG Halal’s deal with Egypt. McKinney said it was one of between 40 to 80 calls he had with members of Congress during his tenure with the Department of Agriculture.

Fee’s attempt to characterize Menendez’s call with McKinney as one of a senator helping a Garden State industry won some pushback from McKinney, who said members of Congress are usually trying to lift up an entire industry, not just one constituent. But McKinney also conceded that Menendez made no threat to withhold funding or take adverse action against the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the call.

“No threats to stop passing U.S.D.A. nominees, right?” Fee asked.

“That’s correct,” McKinney said.

“Nothing like that? He didn’t say he was going to haul you before Congress for testimony?” Fee asked.

“That’s correct. He did not,” McKinney said.

“And he could do that, right? That’s what a senator could do, right?” Fee asked.

“Yes, and they do,” McKinney said.

The trial will resume on Tuesday.

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