N.J. man to cooperate in senator’s corruption case

NEW YORK — Jose Uribe, a former New Jersey insurance broker charged in what prosecutors have described as a broad bribery scheme involving Senator Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, pleaded guilty Friday in Manhattan.

Uribe had been accused of providing Nadine Menendez, the senator’s wife, with a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for Bob Menendez’s efforts to intercede in an insurance fraud investigation in New Jersey.

As part of his guilty plea, Uribe also agreed to “cooperate fully" with prosecutors in their investigation, according to a formal plea agreement signed by Uribe, his lawyer and prosecutors in the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York.

Uribe is expected to “truthfully and completely disclose all information with respect to the activities of himself and others concerning all matters about which this office inquires of him," the agreement states.

He admitted providing the car to Nadine Menendez “with the intent to influence an official act" as he pleaded guilty to seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion.

The judge, Sidney Stein of US District Court, set Uribe’s sentencing for June 14, which means it could come during the trial of Bob Menendez and his three remaining co-defendants, which is scheduled to start May 6.

The senator, his wife, and their remaining co-defendants have all pleaded not guilty.

Uribe entered his guilty plea Friday morning in an unannounced proceeding before Stein.

Uribe’s lawyer, Daniel Fetterman, declined to comment, as did Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan.

NEW YORK TIMES

Haley criticizes GOP as Trump nears nomination

Nikki Haley lamented the direction of the Republican Party — claiming it has abandoned its core principles of small government and free markets — with rival Donald Trump on the cusp of clinching the nomination.

“I get why Republicans are leaving the Republican Party, because we were just always about small government and freedom: economic freedom, personal freedom," Haley told reporters in Washington Friday morning. “You don’t see economic freedom coming from Republicans now."

Haley represents a dying brand of Republicanism focused on lowering government spending and promoting free trade and hawkish foreign policies — philosophies that have largely been abandoned by Trump and his wing of the party. Haley expressed frustration over Trump’s divisive rhetoric, saying it is off-putting to women, minorities, and young people the party needs to attract to grow.

Haley said Republicans have taken too hard a line on abortion and they need to have a more compassionate tone.

“Maybe it’s Republicans’ fault that we’re not communicating something that makes people want to come" to the party, she said.

Haley is making a slew of campaign and fund-raising stops across the country ahead of Super Tuesday on March 5 when 15 states will cast ballots. She is scheduled to make stops in North Carolina, Massachusetts, and Texas in the coming days.

She raised about $12 million in February, even after losing to Trump in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to her campaign. That money will allow Haley to continue her bid even if she has an increasingly narrow path to the GOP nomination.

Haley has vowed to stay in the race through the fast-approaching Super Tuesday contests, despite Trump’s wins in the early nominating contests.

Trump leads Haley nationwide by more than 64 percentage points, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

BLOOMBERG NEWS

US judge: Arizona’s voting laws are not discriminatory

PHOENIX — A federal judge is upholding provisions of new Arizona laws that would require counties to verify the status of registered voters who haven’t provided proof of US citizenship and cross-check voter registration information with various government databases.

In a ruling Thursday, US District Judge Susan Bolton concluded Arizona legislators did not discriminate when they adopted the laws and the state does have an interest in preventing voter fraud and limiting voting to those individuals eligible to vote.

“Considering the evidence as a whole, the court concludes that Arizona’s interests in preventing non-citizens from voting and promoting public confidence in Arizona’s elections outweighs the limited burden voters might encounter when required to provide (documentary proof of citizenship)," she wrote.

However, Bolton said the requirement for individuals using a state registration form to include their state or country of birth violates a provision of the Civil Rights Act and a section of the National Voter Registration Act. Doing so, she explained, would result in the investigation of only naturalized citizens based on county recorders’ subjective beliefs that a naturalized individual is a non-citizen.

The laws were passed amid a wave of proposals that Republicans introduced in the wake of Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Arizona over Donald Trump.

In an earlier ruling, Bolton blocked a requirement in Arizona law that people who use a federal voter registration form provide additional proof of citizenship if they want to vote for president or use the state’s vote-by-mail system. The judge had ruled those provisions were trumped by a 1993 federal voter registration law.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Biden will push higher taxes for rich in State of the Union

President Biden will advocate plans to increase taxes on the wealthy and corporations as well as to lower prescription drug prices in his State of the Union address next week, in what aides describe as an effort to lay out second-term proposals for protecting and implementing his economic agenda.

Biden, who will speak before both houses of Congress on Thursday night, is seeking to convince voters that his administration’s achievements merit another four years in office, and the televised speech will give him a high-profile forum to reiterate his arguments.

He also plans to highlight the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, which set aside subsidies worth $100 billion to convince semiconductor makers to build in the United States, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021 as well as government efforts to stamp out so-called junk fees, a White House official said.

Some of the president’s speech, according to the official, will be devoted to support for abortion rights, an issue that has been successful for Democrats since the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that had guaranteed those rights for nearly half a century.

While it’s unclear if Biden will mention it in the speech, Republicans have been on the defensive over a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen human embryos can be considered people under state law. Even so, GOP senators this week blocked a Democrat-led effort to federally protect in-vitro fertilization.

Along with pledges to lower prices for prescription drugs, Biden, will call for lowering Americans’ health insurance premiums. His vow to raise taxes on the rich faces formidable obstacles in Congress. Republicans, who abhor any tax increase, narrowly control the House and Democrats have a slender hold over the Senate.

BLOOMBERG NEWS