Prosecutors accuse Menendez and his wife of corruption, including using the power of top Democrats to influence policy in favor of Egypt.
Top US Senator Bob Menendez and his wife have been charged with bribery, as US prosecutors accused the pair of taking bribes for a series of corrupt acts, including using the Democrat’s power to influence foreign policy on behalf of Egypt.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan charged Menendez and his wife, Nadine, on Friday with taking hundreds of dollars in bribes in connection with their relationship with three New Jersey businessmen.
“Those bribes included cash, gold, mortgage payments, compensation for a job with little or no exposure, a luxury car and other items of value,” the indictment said.
A search of the couple’s home turned up $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash, prosecutors said.
Menendez and his wife each face three charges: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit racketeering under color of official duty.
The senator’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters news agency.
An attorney for Menendez’s wife did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment from The Associated Press. Messages were also left for Menendez’s Senate spokesman and his political adviser, the news agency said.
Menendez, the 69-year-old chairman of the influential U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was previously charged in New Jersey with accepting private flights, campaign contributions and other bribes from a wealthy patron in exchange for official favors.
However, a 2017 trial ended in a jury deadlock.
Menendez, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2006, appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to be indicted on two unrelated criminal charges, according to a list maintained by the Senate Historical Office.
Menendez faces re-election next year in an effort to extend his three-decade career in Washington, while Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.
Menendez first publicly announced last October that he was the subject of a new federal investigation. Prosecutors declined to comment at the time, but some details of their investigation emerged in news reports and court records.
They want Menendez to forfeit assets including his New Jersey home, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz and about $566,000 in cash, gold bars and money from a bank account.
The businessmen – Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes – were also charged in the scheme.
Prosecutors said Hana, who is originally from Egypt, arranged dinners and meetings between Menendez and Egyptian officials in 2018, with the officials pressuring Menendez about the status of U.S. military aid.
In return, Hana put Nadine Menendez on his company’s payroll, prosecutors said.
Egypt was one of the largest recipients of US military aid at the time, but the State Department withheld $195 million in 2017 and canceled another $65.7 million until the country could demonstrate improvements in human rights and democracy .
Menendez told Hana non-public information about the status of the aid during a 2018 meeting, prosecutors said. Hana then texted an Egyptian official: “The ban on small arms and ammunition in Egypt has been lifted,” according to an indictment made public Friday.