At bribery trial, ex-US official casts Sen. Bob Menendez as a villain in Egyptian meat controversy

At a bribery trial, a former top U.S. agricultural official has cast Sen. Bob Menendez as a villain who tried to stop him from disrupting an unusual sudden monopoly that developed five years ago over the certification of meat exported to Egypt. Ted McKinney testified Friday in Manhattan federal court as prosecutors tried to support their claim that Menendez stepped in when necessary to protect the interests of three New Jersey businessmen who rewarded him with gold bars, thousands of dollars in cash and a luxury car. The Democrat's lawyers say Menendez took no bribes and did nothing wrong in his advocacy for constituents.