Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was indicted by federal prosecutors in New York on charges that he accepted bribes including $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in cash in exchange for official acts that aided an Egyptian American businessman.
The indictment in the Southern District of New York alleges that Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, “engaged in a corrupt relationship with three New Jersey associates and businessmen” ― Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes ― where the Menendezes “agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes” in exchange for taking official acts to “enrich” the businessmen and aid the Egyptian government.
Menendez was previously indicted on bribery charges in 2015 for allegedly attempting to help a New Jersey doctor accused of committing extensive Medicare fraud case. Prosecutors alleged that Menendez tried to intervene on the doctor’s behalf after receiving paid vacations, gifts and hundreds of thousands in campaign support through a super PAC. The case ended in a hung jury in 2017 before being dismissed by the judge one year later. The Senate Ethics Committee later admonished Menendez for accepting gifts from the doctor.
According to the new indictment, Hana, working with his associates Uribe and Daibes, allegedly provided Menendez and his wife with cash and gold bars in exchange for help in securing a lucrative contract in Egypt to monopolize the market for certifying imported halal meat. In addition, Menendez is alleged to have helped secure military aid for the government of Egypt.
A search of Menendez’s home by federal agents revealed the gold bars and cash stashed in clothes bearing Menendez’s name and in a safe deposit box belonging to Menendez’s wife. Some of the cash was found in an envelope bearing the fingerprints of Daibes or his driver.
The indictment details how Menendez met Hana through his wife Nadine when the two were dating. Nadine Menendez and Hana had been friends for years, prosecutors say, and Hana hosted the two at dinners that he paid for with Egyptian military leaders in attendance. At the time, the U.S. government had put $195 million in military aid on hold amid accusations of human rights violations by the Egyptian government of Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who came to power in a military coup in 2013.
The indictment alleges that Menendez agreed to use his position as the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help free the military aid for Egypt.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.