Federal prosecutors in New York have unsealed a damning indictment alleging that powerful Democratic Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from 2012 to 2018.
The indictment, made public on Friday, charges Menendez, his wife Nadine, and three New Jersey businessmen with participating in a years-long scheme involving illicit gifts of cash, gold bars, a luxury car, and flights on private jets.
As chair of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez “promised to and did use his influence and power and breach his official duty in ways that benefited the Government of Egypt and an Egyptian-American businessman, among others,” according to the indictment.
Prosecutors claim Menendez went so far as to “promise to and did use his influence and power and breach his official duty to seek to disrupt a criminal investigation and prosecution” led by New Jersey’s Attorney General, Philip Sellinger.
The damning charges mark the second time in recent years that Senator Menendez has been forced to vigorously defend himself against alleged corruption. Back in 2015, he was accused of accepting almost $1 million worth of bribes from a Florida ophthalmologist over several years.
Prosecutors in that previous case said the bribes came in exchange for Menendez using his Senate influence to assist the doctor with Medicare billing disputes as well as supporting visa applications for the doctor’s foreign girlfriends. However, the jury ultimately deadlocked in that case and the charges were dropped by the Justice Department in early 2018.
The 69-year-old Menendez has spent over two decades in Congress, serving six consecutive terms as a member of the House of Representatives before being appointed to the Senate in 2006. He replaced fellow New Jersey politician Jon Corzine, the former Goldman Sachs executive who vacated his Senate seat after being elected governor.
Menendez went on to be re-elected by New Jersey voters in both 2012 and 2018. He is widely expected to seek re-election again when his current term expires in 2024.
The senator’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the damning new bribery allegations laid out by federal prosecutors in New York.
As chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations panel, Menendez has cultivated enormous influence over American foreign policy during his lengthy tenure in Congress. This latest indictment now threatens to cut short the career of one of Capitol Hill’s most prominent voices on international affairs.
