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Egypt faces scrutiny in US after Senator Menendez’s bribery indictment

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Egypt faces scrutiny in US after Senator Menendez’s bribery indictment

Washington, DC – The corruption charges against top United States Senator Bob Menendez could have been dreamt up by a Hollywood writer: They involve gold bars, envelopes stuffed with cash and a luxury car.

However, for many of Menendez’s colleagues in Congress, as well as rights advocates, the case is far more consequential than its movie-like intrigue.

Menendez is accused of accepting bribes in exchange for using his elected position to benefit the Egyptian government. But the allegations raise questions about the broader ties between the US and Egypt — a relationship that has been under scrutiny amid human rights concerns.

“This is not just an issue of one corrupt person. It is an issue of a problematic relationship that is not founded on the ideals and values of respect to democracy and human rights,” said Nancy Okail, president of the Center for International Policy, a US-based think tank.

Rights groups have accused Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s government, which came to power in a 2013 military coup, of jailing tens of thousands of dissidents and outlawing virtually all political opposition.

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El-Sisi’s administration has denied accusations of rights abuses while stressing the need to maintain stability in the country. But in Washington, calls for rethinking ties with Cairo have been growing — especially after last month’s indictment.

“This should spark a long overdue reassessment of the bilateral relationship between the US and Egypt,” Okail told Al Jazeera.

Menendez has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The charges

Formerly, in his role as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez had massive influence over US foreign policy. He stepped down from the role on September 22, the day the indictment against him was released.

Federal prosecutors allege that Menendez and his wife illegally accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from three businessmen in return for using his “official position to protect and enrich them and to benefit the Government of Egypt”.

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According to the indictment, Menendez met with Egyptian officials and promised to facilitate arms sales to Cairo. He also provided associates with “highly sensitive” information — including details about US Embassy personnel in Cairo — which was then relayed to Egyptian officials.

Mai El-Sadany, executive director of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), a Washington, DC-based think tank, said the allegations are “extremely serious” and unprecedented.

“They indicate collusion with Egyptian military and security officials. They indicate interference on the part of Egyptian officials into policymaking. And they indicate that Egypt was using illegal tactics to influence our foreign policy,” El-Sadany told Al Jazeera.

Still, the response from the administration of US President Joe Biden has been muted. Officials have mostly refused to weigh in on the allegations against Menendez, citing the ongoing status of the legal proceedings.

Asked about the issue last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he would not comment on an “active” legal matter.

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“The administration should be furious at the Egyptian regime,” said Seth Binder, director of advocacy at the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), a rights group. “This is supposed to be a strategic partner, a close partner of the United States.”

Binder added that the Biden administration could sanction Egyptian officials involved in the case, restrict military aid to Cairo or impose penalties for broader human rights abuses in Egypt.

But for now, there is no sign of that happening. In Congress, though, many Democrats are demanding more scrutiny of Washington’s partnership with Cairo.

Don Beyer, a Democratic congressman, called on the US to “note and respond forcefully to the covert Egyptian campaign to thwart American foreign policy aims detailed in the indictment”.

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For his part, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy also said that the Foreign Relations Committee has a “responsibility” to understand what happened — and the extent to which Egypt was involved.

“There are serious implications for US policy towards Egypt if — as the indictment suggests — they were trying to use illicit means to curry favour on the committee,” he told reporters last month.

‘Hold’ on aid

On Saturday, statements turned into action as Senator Ben Cardin, who replaced Menendez as committee chair, placed a “hold” on $235m in aid to Egypt.

Cardin cited Egypt’s human rights record in a statement announcing the pause. But his move underscored the power his predecessor had over Washington policy in relation to Cairo.

“Congress has been clear, through the law, that the government of Egypt’s record on a range of critical human rights issues, good governance, and the rule of law must improve if our bilateral relationship is to be sustained,” Cardin said in a statement.

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“Therefore, I will not allow foreign military financing currently under consideration to move forward.”

He also pledged to block future aid and arms sales to Egypt if its government “does not take meaningful and sustainable steps to improve the human rights conditions in its country”.

Earlier this year, US lawmakers had placed human rights conditions on $320m of the $1.3bn that Cairo receives annually from Washington.

But Blinken waived the conditions last month on the grounds that the assistance advances US interests, like “counterterrorism” efforts and stability in the Middle East.

The US ultimately withheld only $85min aid to Egypt. In previous years, the Biden administration also overruled conditions lawmakers placed on other parts of the assistance to Egypt.

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Binder said the Menendez case played a role in the recent decision to freeze the $235m in aid. He noted that Senator Cardin would not have become the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee were it not for the indictment. “It certainly was a factor,” he told Al Jazeera.

It is unclear what will happen to the suspended funds now.

“We are continuing to consult closely with Congress and the Egyptian government on providing the foreign military financing package announced by the Secretary that advances our shared vision for a secure and prosperous region while ensuring tangible progress on human rights in Egypt,” a State Department spokesperson told Al Jazeera in an email.

The Egyptian embassy in Washington did not respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment by the time of publication.

‘Status quo thinking’

Biden came into office in 2021, promising to centre human rights in US foreign policy. In fact, as a candidate in 2020, he specifically slammed his predecessor Donald Trump for maintaining close ties with President el-Sisi.

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“No more blank checks for Trump’s ‘favorite dictator’,” he wrote in a social media post at that time, referring to the Egyptian president.

Observers say rights violations in Egypt have continued in recent years, and some advocacy groups fear the abuses may intensify ahead of a presidential vote at the end of the year.

But since taking office, Biden has bolstered the alliance with Egypt, inaugurating a formal joint strategic dialogue and economic commission with the country.

Moreover, US officials often laud Egypt and praise its role in mediating ceasefires between Israel and Palestinian groups in Gaza.

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El-Sadany, of TIMPE, blamed what she called “status quo thinking” in the US foreign policy establishment for Washington’s apparent unwillingness to adjust its posture towards Cairo.

“There is an incorrect assumption that if we shake the relationship with Egypt, and Egypt doesn’t receive the aid in full, that it will somehow upset the relationship with Israel,” she told Al Jazeera.

“But the reality is that Egypt acts in its own interests and that actually, this Egyptian regime is quite close to Israel, with the US aid or without it.”

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Creature Commandos Renewed for Season 2 at Max

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Creature Commandos Renewed for Season 2 at Max


‘Creature Commandos’ Gets Season 2 Renewal at Max



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Trump could face renewed ISIS threat in Syria as Turkey goes after US ally

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Trump could face renewed ISIS threat in Syria as Turkey goes after US ally

Concerns over a resurgence of the Islamic State in Syria remain heightened following the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime and an increase in attacks targeting U.S.-aligned Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

President-elect Donald Trump may well face another round against the extremist group as the SDF faces a reality in which it may have to divide its focus between ISIS and threats levied at it by Turkey.

The SDF said five of its soldiers were killed Saturday in attacks by Turkish-backed forces in northern Syria, reported Reuters. 

Anti-regime fighters stand on the roadside as displaced Syrian Kurds drive vehicles loaded with belongings on the Aleppo-Raqqa highway to flee areas on the outskirts of the northern city of Aleppo which were formerly controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), after they were seized by Islamist-led rebels on Dec. 2, 2024. (RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images)

TRUMP SAYS TURKEY ‘DID AN UNFRIENDLY TAKEOVER’ IN SYRIA AS US-BROKERED CEASE-FIRE APPEARS TO FAIL

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The attacks came following an apparent collapse in a cease-fire agreement brokered by the Biden administration as the U.S. and the SDF ramp up efforts to counter ISIS. 

National security advisor Jake Sullivan on Sunday told CNN that his “single biggest concern” is the return of ISIS, which was deemed “defeated” in 2019. 

“ISIS loves vacuums,” he said in reference to the extremist group’s use of power struggles in places like North Africa to gain footholds. “What we see in Syria right now are areas that are basically ungoverned because of the fall of the Assad regime. 

“Our goal is to ensure that we support the SDF — the Kurds — and that we keep ISIS in check,” he added.

Syrian Democratic Forces

Comrades attend the funeral of five fighters of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who were killed in Manbij during clashes with Turkish-backed opposition factions earlier this week, in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on Dec. 14, 2024. (DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. has long had to balance its campaign against ISIS in Syria — which it is fighting with the help of the Kurdish coalition forces, despite Turkey deeming the SDF as akin to the terrorist network the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) — with Washington’s partnership alongside Ankara as a NATO ally. 

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“The SDF and the Assad regime were the primary opponents of ISIS,” Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and founding editor of “The Long War Journal,” told Fox News Digital. “With the former gone and the latter under pressure from Turkish proxies, concerns about the expansion of ISIS are warranted.”

“Turkey wants to destroy the SDF,” Roggio confirmed. “Turkey has the ideal opportunity to destroy the SDF, and it will take advantage of this unique situation. I expect attack[s] against the SDF to increase.”

PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP’S SYRIA DILEMMA: INTERVENE OR LET IT TURN INTO TERROR STATE

The Biden administration has already taken steps to ramp up its campaign against ISIS, hitting more than 75 sites in a significant strike earlier this month on known “ISIS leaders, operatives and camps,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed.

A soldier from the US-led coalition gestures towards schoolchildren during a joint U.S.- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) patrol in the countryside of Qamishli in northeastern Syria Feb. 8, 2024.

A soldier from the US-led coalition gestures towards schoolchildren during a joint U.S.- Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) patrol in the countryside of Qamishli in northeastern Syria Feb. 8, 2024. (Reuters/Orhan Qereman)

The operation coincided with the fall of Damascus on Dec. 8 following a sweeping takeover of Aleppo, Hama and Homs by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which was aided by the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).

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In addition, CENTCOM on Thursday killed ISIS leader Abu Yusif aka Mahmud using a precision airstrike in eastern Syria — an area where, according to Syrian news outlets, ISIS has been able to seize weapons depots belonging to the former Syrian military under the Assad regime amid the “chaos.”

SDF forces in an attempt to clamp down on ISIS uprisings captured 18 ISIS terrorists and suspected collaborators on Sunday near the city of Raqqa, which was once an ISIS stronghold, according to ANF News.

The campaign was reportedly done “in cooperation with the international coalition forces,” but CENTCOM has not yet confirmed whether the U.S. was involved. 

photo of us troops in syria training the ypg/sdf

US forces provide military training to members of the YPG/SDF, which Turkey consider as an extension of PKK in Syria, in the Qamisli district in the Al-Hasakah province, Syria on Aug. 18, 2023. The PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkiye, and the European Union. (Hedil Amir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

But concern remains high that the SDF could see its operational abilities divided as attacks from the Turkey-backed SNA coalition forces increase — which could spell trouble for the upcoming Trump administration as it looks to prevent another resurgence of ISIS, while balancing U.S. relations with Turkey, which is further expected to exercise outsized influence over the new Syrian government.

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“We continue to monitor the situation in Syria,” Brian Hughes, Trump-Vance Transition spokesperson said in response to questions from Fox News Digital. “President Trump is committed to diminishing threats to peace and stability in the Middle East and to protecting Americans here at home.”

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Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital director pleads for help before it’s ‘too late’

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Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital director pleads for help before it’s ‘too late’

Israel orders emptying of medical facility with nearly 400 civilians inside, including babies who need oxygen and incubators.

The director of one of Gaza’s last partially functioning hospitals is appealing for help, saying Israeli forces have surrounded the medical facility.

Dr Hussam Abu Safia, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, on Monday urged the international community to act “before it is too late”, calling the situation “horrifying”.

He said obeying an Israeli order to empty the facility would be “next to impossible” because nearly 400 civilians remain inside, including babies who need oxygen and incubators.

“The bombing continues from all directions, affecting the building, the departments and the staff. This is a serious and extremely horrifying situation,” Abu Safia said.

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Outside the hospital in Beit Lahiya, Israeli forces have placed what is thought to be explosives at the gates. Witnesses said an automated guided vehicle delivered boxes with the word “danger” written on them.

Al Jazeera’s Gaza correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum said the Israeli military has deployed automated remote vehicles called “explosive robots” around the hospital.

“[The robots] are loaded with tonnes of explosives that can lead to the destruction of the neighbourhood,” Abu Azzoum said.

“We’ve seen videos released by some of the medical workers inside Kamal Adwan Hospital showing how the Israeli military has been using these in the vicinity of the hospital,” he added, saying it could be a sign that further escalation might take place in the coming days.

“The Israeli military is systematically trying to exert ultimate pressure on the medical teams by causing severe destruction to the surroundings [of the hospital],” Abu Azzoum said.

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Abu Safia said: “The world must understand that our hospital is being targeted with the intent to kill and forcibly displace us,” adding that the Israeli bombing did not stop throughout Sunday night, destroying homes and surrounding buildings.

“We urge the international community to intervene quickly and stop this fierce assault on us to protect the healthcare system, the workers and the patients within it,” the hospital director said.

Since Monday morning, the hospital has been targeted with bombs in its courtyards and on its rooftop dropped by quadcopters, once again threatening the hospital’s fuel and oxygen supplies, he said.

“The situation remains extremely dangerous and requires urgent international intervention before it is too late,” the doctor said.

Abu Safia made a similar appeal on Sunday, accusing Israel of directly bombing the hospital’s intensive care unit.

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More than 14 months of Israeli attacks have devastated Gaza and displaced almost all of its 2.3 million people. More than 45,000 people, mostly children and women, have been killed in the offensive.

Israel’s genocide against Palestinians started shortly after a Hamas-led incursion inside Israeli territory on October 7, 2023 killed nearly 1,100 people, according to Israeli officials, and about 250 others were taken captive.

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