TRAITOR: “One who betrays another’s trust or is false to an obligation or duty.”
18 U.S. Code 201 – Bribery of public officials and witnesses: Prohibits bribing (or attempting to bribe) a public official or someone who has been elected or appointed to office. The term “public official” means Member of Congress, Delegate, or Resident Commissioner.
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In June 2022, NBC News reported that federal agents had raided the home of Senator Bob Menendez’ D-NJ. Menendez and his wife, Nadine. They were indicted on federal bribery charges. Gold bars worth more than $100,000 and a new Mercedes-Benz convertible were found in addition to wads of cash.
The indictment reported that “Nearly half a million dollars in cash was found stuffed inside envelopes and stashed inside the pockets of clothing hanging in the closets of the Menendez’s home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, including a big roll of bills in a jacket from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus with Menendez’s name on it.”
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On October 12, 2023, the BBC reported that, “U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, who is already facing corruption charges, has now been accused of acting as a foreign agent of Egypt. The new indictment alleges Mr. Menendez and his wife Nadine, “provided sensitive U.S. government information” that helped Egypt’s government. The BBC provided more detailed information on the federal agents’ raid on Menendez’s home in 2022. According to their report, investigators found $480,000 in cash hidden throughout the residence, as well as 13 bars of gold bullion worth an estimated $155,000.
The new indictment filed by New York federal prosecutors alleges Mr. Menendez used “his influence and power to breach his official duty in ways that benefited the Government of Egypt. Menendez allegedly encouraged fellow senators to lift a hold on $300,000,000 in aid to Egypt and provided U.S. government information to its government according to prosecutors.”
Menendez, in a public statement, defended himself against the new charges. “Piling new charge upon new charge does not make the allegations true. I have been, throughout my life, loyal to only one country – the United States of America.”
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On January 3, 2023, Business Insider reported that, “78 members of Congress have violated a law designed to prevent insider trading and stop conflicts of interest.”
Congress passed and President Obama signed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, also known as the STOCK ACT.
Congress passed the law to combat insider trading and conflict of interest among their own members and force lawmakers to be more transparent about their personal dealings. A key provision of the law mandates that Congressional lawmakers publicly – and quickly – disclose any stock trade made by themselves, a spouse, or a dependent child.
The Business Insider article listed the 78 members. Of the 78 members who violated the STOCK ACT, 37 were Democrats and 41 were Republicans.
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SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OATH OF OFFICE:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”
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Politicians who betray the public trust by accepting bribes from agents of foreign nations, violate the tenets of their oath of office, and engage in insider-trading of Congressional knowledge, may be considered TRAITORS to the American people.
James Peifer
