U.S. Senator Bob Menendez was convicted on all 16 criminal counts, including bribery, at his corruption trial in Manhattan federal court, marking a dramatic fall for the once-influential New Jersey Democrat.
Top Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, promptly called for Menendez, who has been in the Senate since 2006, to resign. Menendez previously escaped conviction in a 2017 corruption trial due to a deadlocked jury.
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The jurors deliberated for over 12 hours across three days before reaching their verdict in the nine-week trial. Menendez, 70, had pleaded not guilty to charges, which also included acting as an agent for the Egyptian government, obstruction of justice, wire fraud, and extortion.
After the verdict, Menendez remained defiant, vowing to appeal but avoiding questions about resignation. He had resisted resignation calls from fellow Democrats since being charged in September.
“I have never violated my public oath. I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country,” Menendez said. He had stepped down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee upon being charged. “I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
The trial highlighted multiple bribery schemes where Menendez and his wife Nadine accepted cash, gold bars, and payments from businessmen in exchange for Menendez’s political influence. Menendez was accused of steering billions in U.S. aid to Egypt, benefiting businessman Wael Hana, and attempting to influence criminal investigations for Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.
“This was politics for profit,” said Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor Damian Williams. “His years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”
Menendez, Hana, and Daibes were all convicted on all counts, while Uribe had pleaded guilty and testified for the prosecution. U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein set Menendez’s sentencing for October 29, just before the November 5 election where Menendez is running as an independent for another Senate term.
Calls for Menendez’s resignation intensified. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy stated that if Menendez does not resign, the Senate should expel him. Murphy would appoint Menendez’s replacement if he resigns.
“This is a dark, painful day for the people of New Jersey,” said Booker. “Representing people in Congress demands the public’s trust. When any elected official violates that trust, it is a betrayal of the oath we take to serve the people who’ve elected us.”
Menendez has been a prominent figure in Washington for over three decades, serving in the Senate since 2006, after 13 years in the House of Representatives, and prior roles in the New Jersey legislature and as a mayor. Before his charges, Menendez was a key Senate committee chair and an ally in President Joe Biden’s foreign policy efforts.
The conviction is a significant victory for the U.S. Justice Department and Damian Williams, who prioritizes eliminating public corruption.
During the trial, jurors were shown some of the gold bars seized from Menendez’s home. Agents also found over $480,000 in cash, including some in envelopes inside a jacket with Menendez’s name. Prosecutors revealed that Hana paid Nadine Menendez $10,000 a month for a “sham job,” leading the senator to pressure the Agriculture Department to stop scrutinizing Hana’s monopoly on certifying halal meat for export.
Menendez was also accused of pressuring law enforcement to ease off Daibes, a real estate developer, and Uribe, an insurance broker who testified to buying Nadine Menendez a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz in exchange for the senator’s help.
Nadine Menendez, diagnosed with breast cancer, did not attend her husband’s trial and is set to be tried separately. Menendez’s 2017 mistrial in New Jersey involved narrower allegations.
