Senator Menendez's wife of three years at center of bribery allegations
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[September 23, 2023]
By Tom Hals and Luc Cohen
(Reuters) - Three years ago, New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez announced
that after months of COVID-19 turmoil, he had married Nadine Arslanian
in a socially distanced ceremony that he called a "lovely & joyous day
we will never forget."
What he didn't say was that for the two prior years the woman who was
then his girlfriend was often by his side when he met with Egyptian
officials to discuss sensitive topics including sales of U.S. military
equipment.
Now he is facing federal felony charges alongside his wife since 2020,
who plays a starring role in the conspiracy indictment for arranging and
attending meetings at which business executives and foreign officials
sought to curry favor from Menendez.
The senator said prosecutors had misrepresented the facts and
mischaracterized routine legislative work. A lawyer for Arslanian, who
also goes by Nadine Menendez, said she denied wrongdoing and would
"vigorously defend" against the allegations in court.
Arslanian, 56, reportedly met Menendez, 69, at an IHOP pancake
restaurant, which the senator has praised as a favorite dining spot. The
pair began dating in 2018, according to the indictment, which said she
was unemployed at the time.
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In 2019, Menendez proposed to her at the Taj Mahal in India, presenting
Arslanian with a ring while serenading her with "Never Enough" from
musical film "The Greatest Showman."
Soon after she met Menendez, Arslanian worked with businessman Wael Hana
to introduce the senator, the powerful chairman of the U.S. Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations, to Egyptian officials, the indictment
said.
She was alongside Menendez when he met with Egyptian officials at his
Senate office in March 2108, according to the indictment, one of
multiple meetings she would attend.
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![](../images/092323PIX/news_k76.jpg)
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine Arslanian arrive for
a state dinner in honor of French President Emmanuel Macron at the
White House in Washington, U.S., December 1, 2022. REUTERS/Amanda
Andrade-Rhoades/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Sep/23/images/ads/current/graue_lda_SILVERTRUCK_091823.jpg)
In May of that year, Menendez sought sensitive information from the
U.S. State Department regarding personnel at the U.S. Embassy in
Cairo, and texted it to Arslanian. She then forwarded it to Egyptian
officials, according to the indictment.
In return for Menendez's promise to help Egypt benefit from U.S.
military sales, Hana rewarded Arslanian with a no-show job at his
company and $23,000 to get her home out of foreclosure proceedings,
the indictment said.
In June of 2022, officials searched the apartment Menendez and
Arslanian shared in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and found more
than $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in cash. Arslanian's safe
deposit box contained another $70,000.
Arslanian, a registered Republican, according to voting records, is
accused of setting up a company called Strategic International
Business Consultants with Menendez's help to receive bribery
payments.
She would tell an unidentified relative, according to the
indictment: "Every time I'm a middle person for a deal, I am asking
to get paid and this is my consulting company."
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Luc Cohen in New
York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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