Federal prosecutors have begun to lay the foundation for their case against Menendez and his two co-defendants in a New York courtroom. Through Tuesday, they had called six witnesses – an FBI special agent; a US diplomat; a former State Department employee; the lead counsel for the halal certification company owned by Wael Hana, one of Menendez’s co-defendants; and the executive assistants to Hana and Fred Daibes, Menendez’s other co-defendant.
Hana also asked him to write a promissory note so that Nadine Menendez would receive about $22,000 to $23,000, with a five-year term to pay back the amount in full, Moldovan testified. Moldovan said Nadine Menendez was “upset and offended” that Hana had a lawyer formalize the loan with a promissory note. She never signed the agreement, he testified, but she did receive the checks.