Two top executives of a New York-based technology services firm charged alongside the highest-ranking U.S. Navy admiral ever to face criminal indictment for bribery are fighting the charges, challenging federal prosecutors' decision to bring what one of their lawyers called a "politically motivated" military corruption case. Charlie Kim, 50, and Meghan Messenger, 47, are set to plead not guilty Monday in D.C. with retired four-star admiral Robert P. Burke, 62, formerly the Navy's second-highest-ranking officer and top commander in Europe and Africa. The three were charged four weeks ago with bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery for Burke's alleged agreement to award a sole-source contract to Next Jump and to help it win future Navy business, in exchange for the promise of a $500,000-a-year job and stock options after he retired. In their first public statements about the case, lawyers for the company and its charged co-CEOs criticized the Justice Department's handling of the investigation, suggesting prosecutors were fixated on landing a trophy target. https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/06/29/next-jump-navy-burke-charges/

Source: Washington Post July 01, 2024 03:14 UTC