US Senator Bob Menendez, head of the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, has been indicted on corruption charges, the second indictment of a Democrat in less than a decade, the New York federal prosecutor announced on Friday, according to AFP.
Accusations against Bob MenendezPhoto: US Attorney Southern District NY / AP / Profimedia
According to prosecutor Damian Williams, between 2018 and 2022, the senator accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes from three New Jersey residents, “using his power and influence to protect and enrich these people from business and to support the Egyptian government’.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, is also facing criminal charges.
Three kilograms of ingots
During a search of the couple’s home, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) found “wads of cash stuffed in his jacket pockets,” three kilograms of “gold bullion” and a luxury car—all elements “that were part of the fraud “, said the prosecutor.
The senator vehemently disputed the allegations. “For years, people behind the scenes have tried to silence me and bury me politically,” he said in a statement. He announced that he is temporarily stepping down as head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
A decision welcomed by Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Bob Menendez “is entitled to a fair trial,” he stressed.
Trial overturned in 2017
Robert Menendez, 69, of Cuban descent and born in New York, is a veteran of Washington politics.
Elected as a Democrat from the state of New Jersey to the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2006, and then to the Senate, he is one of the most influential voices on diplomatic issues in the American capital.
The Democrat has already had run-ins with the federal judiciary.
Unusually for a senator, he was indicted on corruption charges in 2015, but his trial was overturned in 2017 due to the lack of a unanimous jury verdict.
The following year, the Justice Department — under Republican Donald Trump — asked a judge to drop all corruption charges against Bob Menendez.
He was accused of using his position to protect the interests of a wealthy ophthalmologist friend, businessman and donor from Florida, Salomon Melgen, in exchange for gifts and campaign finance.
