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By Christian Wade The Center Square

Embattled U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is facing new federal charges alleging that he worked as an agent for Qatar in exchange for monetary bribes.

Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was charged with receiving gifts from Qatar in a new superseding indictment made public Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department that alleges the bribery and extortion scheme continued into 2023, nearly a year longer than initially alleged by federal prosecutors.

The new charges add to the legal woes for Menendez, who is already facing federal charges alleging he acted as a foreign agent and accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to benefit the Egyptian government.

In September, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed a 39-page indictment accusing Menendez and his wife, Nadine, of accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in bribes in exchange for using his political influence to benefit the Egyptian government and business associates in New Jersey.

A month later, federal prosecutors filed a new indictment alleging that Menendez had acted as a "foreign agent" for Egypt by shepherding billions in military aid that previously had been denied to the country over its record of human rights abuses.

Among the new allegations, Menendez accepted payments from one of his co-conspirators, New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes, in exchange for using his political influence to help him obtain millions of dollars from an investment fund tied to the Qatari government.

"Those bribes included cash, gold, payments towards a home mortgage, compensation for a low or no-show job, luxury vehicles, and other things of value," prosecutors wrote in the 50-page court filing.

Prosecutors also allege after Menendezs home was raided by the FBI in 2022, he took steps to try to cover up the alleged bribes by paying back the mortgage payments to the businessmen and describing them as personal loans.

Menendez has vigorously denied any wrongdoing, and his attorney blasted the latest charges as "a string of baseless assumptions and bizarre conjectures based on routine, lawful contacts between a Senator and his constituents or foreign officials."

"Those interactions were always based on his professional judgment as to the best interests of the United States because he is, and always has been, a patriot," Adam Fee said in a statement. "This latest Indictment only exposes the lengths to which these hostile prosecutors will go to poison the public before a trial even begins.

"But these new allegations dont change a thing, and their theories wont survive the scrutiny of the court or a jury," Fee added.

Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the previous charges, and he has refused to step down despite calls from fellow New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker.

A recent poll found a majority of New Jersey voters want Menendez to step down and make the allegations.

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Democrat Sen. Menendez charged with aiding Qatar in new corruption charges - The Highland County Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) A Republican-controlled committee on Monday recommended firing Wisconsin's top elections official rather than reappointing her, clearing the way for a vote by the full GOP-led state Senate as soon as Thursday.

The Senate elections committee voted 3-1 along party lines, with one Democrat abstaining, against confirming nonpartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe for a second term. Democrats have accused GOP leaders of improperly pushing through Wolfe's confirmation after the elections commission's three Republicans and three Democrats deadlocked along party lines in a reappointment vote in June.

Monday's vote comes despite objections from the state's Democratic attorney general and the Legislature's own nonpartisan attorneys who have said that without a majority vote by the commission to reappoint Wolfe, the Senate doesn't have the authority to go forward with deciding whether to confirm or fire her.

In the absence of a majority vote by the commission, a recent Supreme Court ruling appears to allow Wolfe to stay in office indefinitely as a holdover. Conservatives have used that ruling to maintain control of key policy boards. If Wolfe's confirmation is rejected by the full Senate a result that would normally carry the effect of firing her the matter is likely to be resolved through a lawsuit.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu did not immediately respond to an email sent Monday asking about his plans for scheduling a floor vote on Wolfes future. The Senate's next floor period is set for Thursday.

As I said when the Committee first met to discuss Administrator Wolfes continued service to the people of Wisconsin, this nomination is not before us and Senate Republicans are on a path that will waste taxpayer money and create unnecessary controversy around our elections while attacking qualified, hard-working election officials," Democratic Sen. Mark Spreitzer, who cast the sole vote to confirm Wolfe's appointment, said in a statement on Monday.

Spreitzer promised to submit a minority report saying the Senate was moving ahead illegitimately.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers commented on Monday's vote in a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Republicans are hell-bent on doing everything they can to interfere with our elections, including trying to abuse their power by improperly firing the states elections commissioner, he said.

Wolfe did not attend a public hearing the Senate elections committee held last month on her reappointment. That hearing attracted dozens of election skeptics who repeated widely debunked claims about the 2020 election and called for Wolfe to be fired or even arrested.

She didn't bother to show up to her own public hearing, Republican Sen. Dan Feyen, who voted against reappointing Wolfe, said in a statement. What I heard instead were numerous concerns from Wisconsinites around the state who have lost faith in the job she was doing as administrator.

Conspiracy theorists falsely claim Wolfe was part of a plot to rig the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden, and some Senate Republicans have vowed to oust her before the 2024 presidential election. Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, an outcome that has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firms review and numerous state and federal lawsuits.

Elections observers have raised concerns that firing Wolfe or disputing her position through the 2024 election could encourage election skeptics who have already harassed and threatened election officials over the 2020 election.

___

Harm Venhuizen is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Senate committee recommends firing Wisconsin's top elections official in process Democrats dispute - Yahoo News

Rep. Omar has been elected by her constituents three times and has consistently stood up for them, including through her service on the House Budget Committee, Jeffries said in a statement. As House Democratic Leader, I vigorously endorse her re-election and stand with her as we battle Extreme MAGA Republicans for the future of our nation.

In addition to Jeffries, Omar is picking up support from House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and the previous top trio of House Democratic leadership: Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.). A spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee also confirmed the plan to back incumbents.

In a statement, Omar said she was proud to have earned the respect and support of every single member of the Democratic House leadership for my re-election campaign.

Although party leaders generally endorse their incumbent members, the support will ease perennial primary jitters on the progressive left, especially amid recent reporting about potential AIPAC-backed challenges. Jeffries and other leaders are embracing their first chance to show support, despite the awkwardness inherent in defending progressive squad members who won their seats by toppling incumbents or who backed primary opponents to other sitting lawmakers.

Omar, whos served in the House since 2019, represents a reliably blue seat, but she faced a tougher-than-expected primary challenge last year who ran a more centrist campaign, including a focus on funding police. This cycle, other members of the caucus progressive flank are potentially facing AIPAC-backed challenges from Democratic candidates who might try to make Israel a wedge issue, Jewish Insider has reported.

Its not the first time AIPAC has provoked progressive resentment; the groups campaign arm spent heavily last cycle against now-Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) and other liberals. Meanwhile, other Democrats have continued to support the advocacy group, and recent lawmaker trips to Israel sponsored by the groups sister organization, the American Israel Education Foundation, have raised eyebrows on the left.

We proudly support progressive candidates who will advance the US-Israel relationship and oppose anti-Israel candidates, AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann said in a statement. We have supported the House Democratic leadership, almost half of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and over half of the Congressional Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus.

The show of support from Jeffries and other Democratic leaders is likely to resonate with the caucus, as members aim to stave off fractious primaries next year and focus on taking back a majority that feels within their reach. Although progressives criticism of the conservative Israeli government and AIPAC has presented pitfalls for Hill Democrats, leadership is clearly sending a message that it will back even Democrats leftmost members.

Theres nothing wrong with primaries, and everyone has the right to run against the incumbent. But when youre trying to build a family, its really hard to say: Im going to support Billy and Jim and Susan, but not Ilhan when you ask them to pay dues, said Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the DCCCs recruitment chair. You cant be constantly out there pressing for unity, and then abandon those teammates because they have a primary.

I think itd be helpful for our leaders to say: Please stay out of these family fights, Beyer added, in a nod to AIPAC.

Jeffries, for his part, has been consistent in publicly supporting incumbents. He co-founded a PAC last cycle that backed members facing primary challengers, which some on the left saw as a response to progressive attempts to unseat Democratic lawmakers. Although the PACs spending was relatively modest in comparison to other groups, Democrats still valued the show of support from their partys rising star. (Jeffries is no longer listed as part of the groups board after his promotion to party leader.)

Jeffries spokesperson Christie Stephenson said in a statement that the New York Democrat intended to continue his practice of supporting the reelection of every single House Democratic incumbent, from the most progressive to the most centrist, and all points in between.

On the other side of Democrats ideological spectrum, leaders similarly threw their weight behind centrist Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) earlier this month. Hed faced left-leaning challengers over the last several cycles, many focused on his anti-abortion stances.

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Hakeem Jeffries backs progressive Ilhan Omar amid AIPAC primary threat - POLITICO - POLITICO

Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon (D) has issued a scathing rebuke of Gov. Ron DeSantis’s response to a white supremacist’s deadly rampage in Jacksonville this weekend. 

Nixon, who represents the Jacksonville district where the shooting happened, told MSNBC’s Yasmin Vossoughian on Sunday that DeSantis has been leading “an all-out attack on the Black community with his anti-woke policies” and because of this, the GOP presidential candidate is responsible for Saturday’s violence. 

“This is a governor who has done nothing but fan these types of happenings throughout our state,” Nixon said. “At the end of the day, the governor has blood on his hands.”

Nixon said that the policies DeSantis has been pushing have been “dog whistles to get folks up and riled up in the way in which it just happened.”

Ryan Christopher Palmeter, 21, opened fire in a Dollar General store Saturday afternoon, killing three people before shooting and killing himself. All three victims of the shooting were Black.

Palmeter, who was white, had written numerous racist manifestos ahead of the shooting, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.

DeSantis condemned the shooting, calling Palmeter a “deranged scumbag.” 

“Perpetrating violence of this kind is unacceptable, and targeting people due to their race has no place in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said Sunday.

But Nixon dismissed DeSantis’s statement by pointing out warnings she and other members of the state Legislature had given the governor over the last few years. 

“My blood is literally boiling. Myself and other representatives, particularly Black representatives, throughout the past few legislative sessions have repeatedly told him what his rhetoric was going to do and that is exactly what transpired on yesterday,” Nixon said. “This is absurd. It’s ridiculous. He is one of the causes to this. This is an agenda that he has been pushing since he gets gotten into office. He showed us who he was when he initially ran for governor saying ‘Don’t monkey this up.’ Those types of statements, it only leads to things like this.”

The Hill has reached out to DeSantis’s office for comment.

DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has come under fire for policies his administration has passed that many have called anti-Black. At the start of this year, his administration rejected the College Board’s Advanced Placement course on African American studies, arguing its content is “inexplicably contrary to Florida law and significantly lacks educational value.”

Then, in June, the state’s Board of Education approved new standards for teaching African American history, including a rule directing teachers to instruct on “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

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Florida Democrat: DeSantis has blood on his hands after Jacksonville shooting - The Hill

A House Democrat raised concerns about the trial schedule ahead ofDonald Trump and how it might impact the former presidents ability to run his 2024 election campaign.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) talked on Wednesday with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, who made the point that blue America doesnt seem to understand that red America thinks this is a complete setup job when it comes to Trump facing four criminal cases.

The congressman dismissed the notion that people could declare their candidacy for office to try and shake prosecutions, but did note some contention when it comes to the timing of the proceedings.

I do think we need to make sure that in the timing, if Trump does emerge as the Republican nominee, that it does not compromise the ability to have a robust campaign schedule, Khanna said.

And I imagine that the courts will take that into consideration if he is the nominee, he added. You know, he may not be the nominee.

Trial start dates have been picked in three of the criminal cases against Trump, who is the frontrunner in the GOP presidential nomination contest in a large field of candidates.

A federal judge just set Trumps federal election interference trial in Washington, D.C., for March 4, which is one day before Super Tuesday. In addition, the hush-money criminal case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and special counsel Jack Smiths documents case are set to begin on March 25 and May 20, respectively, both of which are right in the middle of a slate of election contests.

One other criminal matter this one in Georgia remains unclear as of press time. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed starting the trial in her 2020 election case against Trump and 18 of his allies on March 4, which is the same date now selected for the federal election case. It also happens to be one week before Georgias primary on March 12.

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The Republican National Convention is scheduled to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from July 15-18.

Across all the legal matters, Trump has broadly denied any wrongdoing and said that the indictments should be viewed as a campaign contribution to President Joe Biden, who is also seeking re-election. He has pleaded not guilty to charges in New York, D.C., and Florida. Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election case are set to be arraigned next week.

Khanna, whose district lies in Silicon Valley, said as a member of Congress trial dates are not up to him, though he reasoned that they may ultimately change depending on Trumps success on the campaign trail.

My instinct on all of this is theyre not going to have trials in the middle of something thats going to compromise a candidates ability who has real traction to have a fair fight, he said. I just dont see that happening in our country.

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Democrat Objects To Trial Schedule Disrupting Trump's Campaign - The Daily Wire