OAN’s Stephanie Stahl
12:20 PM – Friday, September 22, 2023
New Jersey Democrat Senator Bob Menendez has been charged with a federal corruption indictment, making it the second set of corruption charges against him in 10 years.
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Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife, Nadine, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the newly unsealed federal indictment.
The sweeping 39-page indictment claims that the couple accepted bribes in exchange for Menendez using his power as a U.S. senator to protect the interest of three prominent businessmen, while also benefiting Egypt’s government.
Federal prosecutors in New York announced the charges during a press conference on Friday, adding that the investigation is “ongoing.”
“Today, I’m announcing that my office has obtained a three count indictment charging Senator Robert Menendez, his wife, Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes for bribery offenses,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference late Friday morning.
The list of charges against the couple includes conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and abusing his power in office.
The indictment alleges Menendez and his wife received bribes that included “cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and other items of value.”
Menendez responded to the indictment in a statement.
“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave. Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists,” he claimed.
The indictment revealed that in 2022, federal agents carried out searches at Menendez’s residence and safe deposit box, discovering nearly $500,000 in cash.
Some of this money was reportedly hidden in envelopes within jackets bearing Menendez’s name.
Prosecutors assert that some of those envelopes carried the fingerprints or DNA of one of the business associates allegedly involved in providing bribes to the senator.
During the search, federal investigators also found a “luxury vehicle, paid for by [Jose] Uribe,” parked in the garage.
As Menendez gears up for re-election next year, these charges have cast a shadow over his political future. The senator has been a fixture in the Senate since 2006.
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