Menendez told top USDA official to ‘stop interfering’ with company accused of offering bribesSen. Bob Menendez is accused of receiving bribes to benefit New Jersey businesspeople and the Egyptian government. | Ted Shaffrey/APNEW YORK — In May 2019, a senior official at the USDA was told by his then-chief-of-staff that Sen.
In spring 2019, Egyptian officials decided to decertify all halal meat certification companies in the country except for IS EG Halal. The decision came as a surprise to American agriculture officials, recalled McKinney, who now leads the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. The team McKinney oversaw at the USDA declined to keep questioning the halal certification monopoly — or respond to Menendez’s call — after learning that the FBI was investigating, McKinney said.