 |
| CLICK HERE TO VIEW CURRENT ISSUE |
 |
| Best of NAMA 2026 |
|
 |
|
FORMER USDA EXECUTIVE TED MCKINNEY TESTIFIES IN SENATOR'S CRIMINAL CASE
Jun. 3, 2024
 |
|---|
| Agri-Pulse | | Former USDA Undersecretary Ted McKinney, current CEO of Nat'l Assn of State Depts of Agriculture |
Source: Yahoo News
A key witness in the federal corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez testified Friday that the New Jersey Democrat told him to "stop interfering" when he raised concerns about a newfound food industry monopoly by a constituent of the senator's.
Ted McKinney, a former US Department of Agriculture official, said he learned in April 2019 that Egypt had de-listed seven halal certifiers in the US from approving meat exports and replaced them with a sole certifier, IS EG Halal. That company is owned by Wael Hana, Menendez's constituent and alleged co-conspirator in the case.
Menendez and Hana, along with New Jersey businessman Fred Daibes and Menendez's wife, Nadine, are accused of engaging in a bribery scheme and acting as foreign agents for the Egyptian government. All four have pleaded not guilty.
McKinney was a much-anticipated witness in the trial of Menendez, Hana and Daibes in federal court in New York, as prosecutors have pointed to his phone call with Menendez as evidence that the senator worked to keep the monopoly in place in exchange for bribes from Hana. The senator's wife is set to go on trial in July.
McKinney testified that he was very concerned with the monopoly decision, as IS EG Halal had no experience in the industry and the transition, which would happen in only a week, would affect US competition and Egyptian consumers.
"We had never seen or heard anything like this in my history in the agriculture industry and in the foreign agricultural services," McKinney testified.
On May 1, 2019, the date that had been set by Egypt to go live with the monopoly, McKinney said he called the Egyptian ambassador to the US to find a solution that would not disrupt the flow of exports entirely.
After not hearing back from the ambassador, McKinney elevated the urgency and emailed Mona Mehrez, an Egyptian deputy minister of agriculture, referring to the monopoly as a "draconian decision."
To read the entire article click here.
|
|
|
|
|
