U.S.: Ex-senator Bob Menendez sentenced in corruption and bribery case

A federal court in New York sentenced Wednesday former senator Bob Menendez to 11 years in prison after a bribery and corruption case

Transcript

00:00A federal court in New York sentenced Wednesday former Senator Bob Menendez to 11 years in

00:05prison after a bribery and corruption case.

00:08The deliberations took just over 12 hours over the course of three days after Menendez

00:14and two other defendants were convicted on all counts against them last July.

00:19Prosecutors have asked the federal judge to give the Democrat 15 years behind bars for

00:24crimes that included acting as an agent of the Egyptian government and selling his once

00:29considerable clothes in Washington for gold bars, a luxury car and hundreds of thousands

00:35of dollars in cash bribes.

00:37The court had also given seven and eight years in prison sentences to two New Jersey businessmen

00:43who were convicted of paying bribes to Menendez.

00:47The former senator has been seeking a pardon from President Donald Trump after he was unable

00:52to get one from former President Joe Biden.

01:00Former Senator Bob Menendez managed to beat the Hispanic with the highest ranking position

01:05in the United States Senate and was always a strong advocate for keeping the illegal

01:10sanctions against Cuba and Venezuela.

01:13In 2014, together with then Senator Marco Rubio, he introduced a bill to extend for

01:18three years more the illegal sanctions against Venezuela.

01:22According to Menendez, the blockades should be maintained since, in his opinion, any attempt

01:27to lift them would empower governments that do not respond to the interests of the United

01:32States government, even if such actions may violate international law.