Bob Menendez gets troll treatment after witness claims senator summoned wife Nadine with 'little bell'

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Bob Menendez's defense attorneys cross-examined a pivotal prosecution witness on June 12, bringing up a backyard discussion regarding an alleged bribe. During the encounter, the witness stated that the New Jersey Democrat had called his wife using a 'little bell'.

On his fourth day of testimony, Jose Uribe, an insurance executive from New Jersey who entered a guilty plea to charges of bribery and obstruction in March, addressed inquiries concerning his purported multi-year bribery arrangement with Menendez.

Witness claims Bob Menendez summoned his wife with a 'little bell'

Uribe is one of three businessmen accused by the prosecution of bribing Menendez for years with presents, cash, and gold bars in exchange for political favors. Menendez's defense team has accused the senator's wife of accepting the gifts without telling him, despite his plea of not guilty to 16 federal bribery counts.

During his testimony, Uribe described to the jury a meeting that took place in September 2019 in Menendez's then-girlfriend's Englewood Cliffs garden. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss targets of a state criminal investigation, which Uribe felt might affect his trucking and insurance firms.

Uribe claimed that while sipping cognac and cigars at a patio table, the senator rang a little bell and asked for his "mon amour," Nadine. He mentioned that Nadine was asked to bring him a piece of paper so he could jot down the names of the people he was looking into.

Defense lawyer Adam Fee questioned Uribe about the bell, asking, "Was it bigger than my fist or smaller?" according to Courthouse News.

After demanding Uribe hold up his fist to show the size of the bell, US District Judge Sidney Stein intervened. Stein asked, "His recollection of the size of the little bell is important? OK, proceed and lower your voice."

Referring to another businessman who allegedly bribed Menendez, Fee asked Uribe, "When you left that night, you did not send a text message to Wael Hana, saying it was super weird when Senator Menendez rang a little bell to summon Nadine."

Uribe had said before that, in exchange for the senator's assistance in making sure his business was unaffected by the criminal probe, he finally paid a $15,000 down payment on Nadine Menendez's 2019 Mercedes-Benz convertible and took care of the vehicle payments until June 2022.

Fee, however, again questioned if Menendez was "ringing a little bell" at a follow-up meeting at a restaurant before Uribe left the witness stand. After raising a complaint on yet another bell question, Stein said, "The little bell is on the patio, it’s not at the reception desk."

Internet grills Bob Menendez as witness claims he called his wife with a 'little bell'

People on the internet trolled Bob Menendez as the witness stated that the New Jersey Democrat had called his wife using a "little bell."

Some online comments read, "Menendez is as guilty as sin" and "I don't believe I voted for him last time."

A user also wrote, "That’s awesome I’ll have to give the bell ringing bit a try at my house and see how it goes over" whereas one mentioned, "If I tried that it would be a murder case with my wife as defendant!"

A person also stated, "They deserve each other. This is just one leader of the country" while one added, "and he trying to claim it was all her but yet she is maid servant to him."

One reader said, "Bobby and his poor excuse of a wife are despicable and will both be going down very, very, soon."

A troll said, "Looks like a bunch of d/a ding-a lings to me."

Another one joked, "Like Johnny B Goode, Menendez played his job just like ringing a bell."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.