sourave roy (@souraveroy) • Hey

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They also found cash in closets, a safe and Nadine Menendez’s safety deposit box. Some of the envelopes, according to prosecutors, bore fingerprints or DNA belonging to Daibes or his driver. Total cash discovered: More than $ 480,000 in the home and more than $ 70,000 in the safety deposit box. Later [court filings](https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/14/politics/menendez-bribery-scheme-new-filing/index.html) that added charges in the case are more specific, describing bags full of cash being found on top of hangers in the senator’s basement and stuffed into boots in the closet. ## Convertible Mercedes The 2019 vehicle, which prosecutors value at more than $ 60,000, was parked in the driveway at the Menendez home when it was raided. The indictment describes Nadine Menendez obtaining $ 15,000 in cash from Uribe in a parking lot the day before she picked the vehicle up and put $ 15,000 as a down payment. Uribe is alleged to have then hid his monthly financing payments for the vehicle.
## Envelopes full of cash The indictment includes photos of piles of cash next to envelopes spread across jackets on which the senator’s name is embroidered. There are piles of $ 20 bills and $ 50 bills in one photo and $ 100 bills in another photo.
# Gold bars, basement carpeting and more. Here’s what prosecutors say bought off a US senator** ** Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey faces his second, distinct [bribery and corruption trial](https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/02/politics/read-superseding-indictment-bob-menendez/index.html) in seven years starting Monday. This new case is a complicated affair involving multiple gold bars, envelopes of cash, a Mercedes and a lot more that, prosecutors say, the powerful former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his new wife (they got married during the alleged bribery scheme) obtained in exchange for helping a halal meat monopoly, granting favors for people from Egypt and Qatar and trying to influence a New Jersey prosecution. Menendez, who has until June to announce if he’s running for reelection, has pleaded not guilty and denied all of the charges. He [told CNN’s Manu Raju](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/12/politics/bob-menendez-corruption-trial/index.html) on Capitol Hill last week, “I am looking forward to proving my innocence.” Also pleading not guilty and denying wrongdoing are his wife Nadine, who is also a named as a defendant, and two businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, who have ties to Egypt and Qatar, respectively. Another man, New Jersey businessman [Jose Uribe](https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/01/politics/bob-menendez-jose-uribe-corruption-case/index.html), on the other hand, has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. Here’s what prosecutors say the senator and his wife got:
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“The Georgian government is clearly siding with the Putinist, anti-liberal forces of the world,” Sabanandze, the former EU ambassador, said. “It’s turning into an instrument in the hands of Russia. I cannot speculate. I have no idea whether they’re working on Russia’s instructions, but they certainly are fulfilling their interests.” As protests swelled in Tbilisi, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze also appeared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) annual gathering in Hungary. In his speech, Kobakhidze denounced the “so-called liberals” protesting outside parliament and said they were attacking “homeland, language, and faith.” Sabanadze noted the appeal that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Europe’s longest-serving leader, has to governments seeking to hold onto power. The United States has criticized Georgia’s recent shift. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the foreign agent legislation and Georgian Dream’s “anti-Western rhetoric put Georgia on a precarious trajectory.” Kobakhidze has hit back at the US criticism and on Friday accused Washington of attempting to stoke a revolution in Georgia “carried out through NGOs financed from external sources.” Some have questioned why Georgian Dream reintroduced the foreign agent bill at this moment, almost exactly a year after it was first defeated. Ivanishvili explained in his speech that he had calculated the moment “perfectly:” by introducing the bill now, he hoped the energy of the protesters would be “prematurely wasted” and that their power would be “drained” before October
“Not many people believe that a person who makes billions in Russia is just let out of Russia without any commitments,” Buziashvili said. Many Georgians describe Ivanishvili as a “puppet master” and believe elected officials mostly dance to his tune. Ivanishvili, once a frontline politician but now a reclusive figure, made a rare appearance Monday night, addressing a crowd of counter-protesters after thousands of people were bussed to Tbilisi from Georgia’s rural regions, where Georgian Dream enjoys more support. His speech showed deep paranoia, conspiracism and had an autocratic streak. Ivanishvili claimed Georgia was being controlled by “a pseudo-elite nurtured by a foreign country.” He claimed the world was run by a “Global War Party,” which he suggested was responsible for Russia’s 2008 invasion. And he pledged to persecute his political opponents after October’s elections.
“At that moment they grabbed me, dragged me in and assaulted me,” he said, in an ordeal that lasted around 15 minutes. “They were telling me that I talk too much and they’d make sure I would not be able to any more.” Khabeishvili was seen speaking in Parliament the next day with his face wrapped in bandages. Eto Buziashvili, a former adviser to Georgia’s National Security Council who has attended most of the protests, said police on Tuesday night became “exceptionally brutal.” She told CNN she saw “many law enforcement officers who were not wearing identification marks. They were beating people, but we didn’t know they were with the police. This is very dangerous.” Several protesters told CNN that the tear gas used was noticeably more potent than before, making it harder to breathe and forcing protesters briefly to disperse and regroup. Many fled to the April 9 Park, named after a night in 1989 where the Soviet Army tried to crush a pro-independence protest, killing 21 people and injuring hundreds. Georgia declared independence from the Soviet Union exactly two years later.
Georgia’s government tried to pass the same law last year, but was forced into an embarrassing climbdown after a week of intense**** protests, which saw citizens waving EU flags buffeted back by water cannons. In a move widely seen as an effort to reward Georgia’s citizens – of whom about 80% support joining the bloc – and reverse the country’s drift towards Russia, the EU granted it candidate status in December. “The pictures almost created a moral pressure on Brussels to reward these people, even though their government isn’t doing great,” Natalie Sabanadze, Georgia’s former ambassador to the EU – at a time when candidacy was almost unimaginable – told CNN. But the government reintroduced the same bill in March and appears determined to force it through, despite protests that grow fiercer every week. With fiercer protests has come a fiercer police response. Levan Khabeishvili, chairman of the opposition United National Movement party, shared a photo of his swollen and blackened face after he said he was brutally beaten on Tuesday night. Khabeishvili told CNN he was giving an interview outside parliament when he saw a young man being detained by police,**** and tried to intervene.
Georgia rocked by protests as government pushes Putin-style ‘foreign agent’ bill— After spending his days making wine in the foothills of the Caucasus Mountains, Tsotne Jafaridze returns home to Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital, and begins his new routine. He packs goggles, a gas mask and enough water and snacks to last several hours. He has another long night ahead. Jafaridze is among thousands of Georgians who have for the past month gathered each night outside the country’s parliament, facing down tear gas and water cannons fired by increasingly brutal police, to protest a bill they fear will torpedo its bid to join the European Union and push it further into the Kremlin’s orbit. “This has become my routine,” he told CNN. “If we don’t protect our freedom right now – our European and Western future – tomorrow we’re going to wake up in Russia. And that will be it.” The ruling Georgian Dream party is trying to force through a “foreign agent” law, likened by critics to a measure introduced by Russian President Vladimir Putin to quash dissent. The draft law, which has passed the second of three votes, would require organizations in the former Soviet country that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” or face crippling fines. Jafaridze, who also owns a travel business and says he receives 95% of his income**** from foreign sources, says he would “immediately” be listed as a foreign agent under the broadly-written law. But critics say the intended target of the legislation is not business owners like him, but Georgia’s independent media and civil society organizations, ahead of elections in October in which Georgian Dream, whose popularity is waning, is desperate to keep power.
Until it moves to take the town, Russia’s tactics appear clear – to destroy it from the air. Videos posted on pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels show a series of massive explosions in Chasiv Yar, almost certainly caused by FAB guided aerial bombs, which are dropped from Russian aircraft sometimes dozens of kilometers behind front lines. FAB bombs, which can weigh up to 1.5 tonnes, around half consisting of high explosives, have been used by Russia in ever increasing numbers since they were introduced in the early part of 2023, and have proved devastating in their effectiveness. “It will not be easy for Russia to take the town, but their conditional advantage is that they will not have the job of preserving the settlement. They will simply demolish it with air strikes after which there will be nothing to defend, just like they did with Mariinka and Avdiivka,” Voloshyn told CNN. Ukraine’s vulnerability in the face of the FAB threat highlights another huge need for Kyiv – more air defenses. Officials point out that an increase in the number of Patriot systems, for instance, would not just help defend cities like Kharkiv from missile attack but would blunt the threat from Russian warplanes dropping huge bombs on front-line targets like Chasiv Yar. Zelensky is expected to press key allies to donate more such air defense systems to Ukraine when he addresses defense ministers Friday at a virtual meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Council.
About 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Ocheretyne, on another piece of higher ground, the town of Chasiv Yar is also firmly in Russian sights. Syrskyi, the Ukrainian Armed Forces chief, has said he believes the Kremlin has ordered its capture by May 9, the day Russia celebrates victory over Nazi Germany in 1945. Multiple reports describe heavy fighting taking place in an arc of about 120 degrees to the east of the town, taking in villages from Kalynivka to the northeast to Ivanivske and Klishchiivka to the southeast. Some of the battles are taking place in areas recaptured by Ukraine when it went on the offensive last summer. “The situation around the town of Chasiv Yar is difficult,” Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Ukrainian Ground Forces’ “Khortytsia” operational-strategic group, told CNN. “The enemy is currently using air superiority, missiles, and large-caliber artillery ammunition, trying to reach its goal of reaching the borders of Donetsk region,” he said. The spokesman described some of the Russian ground tactics, saying that assault groups would sweep forward towards Ukrainian positions, probing for possible weak spots, but then retreat without attempting to secure positions. Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the “Achilles” drone battalion, part of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade, agreed that Russian forces had not made significant territorial gains in the last few days but said troops in villages outlying Chasiv Yar were engaged in fierce combat. “The war is for every house, every street, every intersection. Some positions are changing hands,” he told CNN in a phone conversation from the region. If Russia succeeded in capturing Chasiv Yar, he said, it would bring cities like Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk under Russian fire control – and represent a major shift in fortunes in Donetsk.
US aid package vote An acute shortage of artillery munitions among Ukraine’s armed forces is the primary reason for Kyiv’s frontline withdrawals, as President Volodymyr Zelensky recently told a US interviewer. “Our artillery ratio is 1 to 10 (in Russia’s favor),” he said, adding that Russian forces are “pushing us back every day.”House Speaker Mike Johnson has expressed confidence the bill will pass, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper: “We know what the timetable is… we know the urgency in Ukraine… and we’re going to stand for freedom and make sure that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin doesn’t march through Europe.” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also appealed to lawmakers to approve the legislation, acknowledging that the battlefield was shifting “in Russia’s favor.” “We are seeing (Russian forces) make incremental gains, we’re seeing the Ukrainians be challenged in terms of holding the line — they’re doing a very good job, a credible job — but in order to continue to do that, they’re going to need… the right materials, the right munitions, the weapons to be able to do that,” he told the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee. If passed by the House, the bill would still need Senate approval - though that is seen as more likely after the upper chamber gave its support to similar Ukraine aid legislation earlier in the year.
Advances into Ocheretyne are also being reported by Russian military bloggers, as well as into nearby Novokalynove - about 8 kilometers (5 miles) to the east - threatening to overwhelm a part of Ukraine’s defensive lines in the eastern Donetsk region. “The large fortification between Ocheretyno and Novokalynovo may soon be in [Russian] hands. Assault groups have already entered Novokalynovo from the southeast and continue to advance,” one Russian military blogger, Boris Rozhin, wrote on Telegram on Thursday afternoon, using the Russian spelling for the two settlements.Russian gains there in recent days are just the latest successes for Moscow’s forces, which broke through Ukraine’s defensive lines further to the south around the villages of Tonenke and Orlivka at the end of March. An officer with Ukraine’s Eastern Command told CNN the Russian offensive in the area was clearly aimed at pushing towards the town of Pokrovsk, a key road intersection about 30 kilometers to the west. The officer, who asked not to be named because he is not authorised to speak on the record, said that if Russian forces succeeded in gaining and holding Ocheretyne, it could bring vital Ukrainian logistics routes, linking three key military hubs – Kostiantynivka, Pokrovsk and Velyka Novosilka - under Russian fire control. US aid package vote
Russia’s front-line gains highlight Kyiv’s desperate need for US military aid From the top down, the assessment of Ukraine’s armed forces’ position in fighting Russia is bleaker than at any point since the early months of the war. The situation on the eastern front has “worsened significantly,” the military’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said a few days ago – a message backed up by video evidence, analysts, and interviews conducted by CNN with Ukrainian soldiers. As the United States Congress prepares for a crucial weekend vote that could unlock $ 60bn of military aid for Ukraine, frontline troops find themselves withdrawing from key terrain, or getting pounded from the air as they try to hold on to important towns. A key location is the large village of Ocheretyne, which sits on a ridge line to the northwest of Avdiivka, an industrial town captured by Russia in February. Higher ground is typically prized for being easier to defend.DeepState, a Ukrainian organization which monitors battlefield developments daily, assesses a series of Russian advances in recent days along the railway line east into the village – about 4.5 kilometers (nearly 3 miles) in total. The group published drone video showing what it said were Russian soldiers in a trench near the railway line – visual confirmation of their advance. Ahead of the encroaching Russian forces, Ukrainian volunteers have been evacuating civilians from Ocheretyne and other villages, posting videos on social media showing older residents leaving badly destroyed apartment buildings, along with their pets, and with belongings packed into cardboard boxes. As they leave, multiple explosions can be heard in the distance.
“A number of personnel and horses have been injured and are receiving the appropriate medical attention.” Six soldiers and seven horses from the Life Guards, part of the Household Cavalry, were conducting an extended exercise on Wednesday morning, the army said. The animals were spooked when some concrete fell off a conveyor belt being used in nearby construction work and hit the ground, the army added. Five of the horses bolted, while two remained in place. The army said four of the soldiers were unseated and three were injured. These three are currently being assessed in the hospital but are not thought to be in a life-threatening condition. Earlier Wednesday, the City of London Police – the force that oversees London’s financial district – reported the events on social media. In a statement posted on X, it said: “At around 8.40a m, we were called about horses that had became loose and were travelling through the City. “Our officers have contained two horses on the Highway near Limehouse. We’re waiting for an Army horse box to collect the horses and transport them to veterinary care.” Less than an hour after that was posted, colleagues at neighboring Westminster Police posted an update to say that “all of the horses have been accounted for” and that they were “continuing to liaise with the Army.” Startling footage emerged on social media showing two horses – one apparently covered with blood – running through Aldwych in central London. According to PA, a Mercedes taxi that was waiting outside the Clermont Hotel on Buckingham Palace Road had its windows smashed by the spooked horses, while one of the animals shattered the windscreen of a double-decker tour bus. The Household Cavalry acts as the King’s official bodyguard and take part in ceremonial duties. It is based at Hyde Park barracks, a short distance from Buckingham Palace.
Escaped army horses run amok in central London The British army has recovered several horses after they broke free from the prestigious Household Cavalry and bolted through London on Wednesday morning. A number of people and horses are currently being treated for injuries incurred during the incident, though further details about their conditions are unavailable. In a statement emailed to CNN, a spokesperson for the British Army said: “A number of military working horses became loose during routine exercise this morning. All of the horses have now been recovered and returned to camp.
‘Intelligentized warfare’ The latest shake-up is likely the result of an ongoing review of how the military can better meet the strategic objectives of the ruling Chinese Communist Party, according to Char. “I suppose the reorganization better reflects the importance the PLA has placed on speeding up the development of intelligentized warfare” brought by a new round of technological and industrial advancement, he said. The concept of “intelligentized warfare” drew attention in a 2019 Chinese defense white paper that highlighted the military application of cutting-edge tech such as AI, quantum information, big data and cloud computing. “The landscape of international military competition is undergoing historic changes. New and high-tech military technologies with information technology as the core is advancing with each passing day, and there’s a prevailing trend to develop long-range precision, intelligent, stealthy or unmanned weaponry and equipment,” the white paper said. “War is accelerating its evolution in form towards informationized warfare, and intelligentized warfare is on the horizon.” The creation of the Information Support Force as a new branch directly under the Central Military Commission also underscores the importance of information dominance in modern warfare.A commentary in the PLA Daily, the Chinese military’s official mouthpiece, described network information technology as “the biggest variable” in enhancing combat capability. “Modern wars are competitions between systems and structures, where control over information equates to control over the initiative in war,” it said. The emphasis on information dominance and “intelligentized warfare” also has significant implications for any potential future conflict in the Taiwan Strait. China’s Communist Party views Taiwan as part of its territory, despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take control of the island – by force if necessary. Char said in the event of a Taiwan conflict, the Information Support Force “would likely take over as the tip of the spear in supporting the PLA’s attempts to dominate the information space before Beijing’s adversaries can do so.”
‘Better visibility’ Longtime PLA watchers say the latest reorganization is unlikely the result of the recent corruption purges, but rather a reflection that the SSF wasn’t an ideal organizational format for the Chinese military. “It shows that the SSF was not a satisfactory arrangement. It reduced Xi’s visibility of important functions and did not really improve coordination between space, cyber, and network defense forces,” said Joel Wuthnow, a senior research fellow at the Pentagon-funded National Defense University. Before its disbandment, the SSF had two principal units – the Aerospace Systems Department overseeing the PLA’s space operations and reconnaissance, and the Network System Department tasked with cyber, electronic and psychological warfare capabilities.“I think the new structure will give Xi better visibility into what is happening in space, cyberspace, and network management. These functions will now be supervised at his level and not through the Strategic Support Force, which served as a middleman,” Wuthnow said. The lack of such visibility could bear high risks, especially during times of heightened tension and deep distrust between Beijing and Washington. Last year, the US shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon after it traversed the continental United States. The incident caused a fresh crisis between the two powers and plunged bilateral relations into a deep freeze for months. Though US intelligence officials said the balloon was part of an extensive surveillance program run by the Chinese military, Xi may not have been aware of the mission. US President Joe Biden said last June that the Chinese leader didn’t know about the balloon and was “very embarrassed” when it was shot down after it floated off course into American airspace.