Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey has been indicted, accused of using his foreign affairs influence to help Egypt in return for bribes from the authoritarian regime.
This image provided by the U.S. Attorney's office, Friday, Sept. 22, 2023, in New York, shows two of the gold bars found during a search by federal agents of Sen. Bob Menendez's home and safe deposit box.
Menendez is also accused of trying to derail the criminal case against one of the businessmen by pushing to install Philip R. Sellinger as U.S. attorney for New Jersey because Menendez believed he could influence Sellinger. Prosecutors say he also tried to use his position of power to try to meddle in a separate investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.
“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” Menendez said. “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.”
Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal matters, according to the Senate Historical Office. He faces reelection next year in a bid to extend his three-decade career in Washington as Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.
The White House declined to comment on the indictment, including on Biden’s nomination Sellinger, and referred all questions to the Justice Department.In April 2020, shortly after meeting with an Egyptian official, authorities allege, Menendez lobbied then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to increase American engagement in stalled negotiations involving Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to build a dam over the Nile River, a key foreign policy issue for Egypt.
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