American Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the very powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, will be indicted on corruption charges, the second indictment against the elected Democrat in less than a decade, New York federal prosecutors announced Friday.
According to prosecutor Damian Williams, between 2018 and 2022, the senator accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes from three New Jersey residents and “used his power and influence to protect and enrich these businessmen and support the Egyptian government.”
His wife, Nadine Menendez, is also facing criminal charges.
Three kilo bars
During a search of the couple’s apartment, the Federal Police FBI found “wads of money stuffed in his jacket pockets,” three kilos of “gold bars” and a luxury car – as many items “that were part of the fraud.” “, explained the prosecutor.
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The senator strongly denied the allegations. “For years, actors behind the scenes have been trying to silence me and bury me politically,” he denounced in a press release. He announced that he was temporarily stepping down from his position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
A decision welcomed by Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. Bob Menendez “has the right to a fair trial,” he emphasized.
But there were also calls for his resignation from his own camp.
“These are serious allegations that threaten national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system (…). That is why I am calling for his immediate resignation,” Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement.
In a new statement later Friday, Robert Menendez dismissed these growing demands.
“I plan to continue fighting for the people of New Jersey,” he said. “It’s not lost on me how quickly some people judge a Latino and throw him out. I’m not going anywhere,” the senator added.
The trial was canceled in 2017
Robert Menendez, 69, of Cuban origin and born in New York, is an old hand in Washington politics. Elected to the House of Representatives and then the Senate as a Democrat for New Jersey between 1993 and 2006, he is one of the most influential voices on diplomatic issues in the American capital.
The elected official has already had problems with the federal judiciary.
In a rare move for a senator, he was indicted on corruption charges in 2015, but his trial was canceled in 2017 because the jury failed to deliver a unanimous verdict.
The following year, the Justice Department – under the presidency of Republican Donald Trump – asked a judge to drop all corruption charges against Robert Menendez.
He was accused of using his position to advance the interests of a wealthy ophthalmologist friend, businessman and Florida donor, Salomon Melgen, in exchange for gifts and campaign funding.