Bob Menendez pleads not guilty as more Democrats call on him to resign
FOX News national correspondent Bryan Llenas has the latest on Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., facing federal charges as more Democrats call for his resignation on 'The Story.'
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is now facing additional charges of acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to benefit the Egyptian government through his "power and influence as a Senator," according to the superseding indictment filed by a grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday.
A superseding indictment is a formal document issued by a grand jury that replaces and expands upon a previous indictment in a criminal case. It is used when new evidence or charges arise after an initial indictment has been issued. In a statement to Fox News Digital after publication, Menendez denied the new charges and insisted he has always been "loyal to only one country — the United States of America."
Menendez, along with his wife Nadine and three other New Jersey businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes — were first charged in the federal bribery scheme on Sept. 23.
"Among other actions, MENENDEZ provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt," the indictment states.
"It was a part and an object of the conspiracy that ROBERT MENENDEZ, the defendant, and others known and unknown, being a public official, directly and indirectly, would and did corruptly demand, seek, receive, accept, and agree to receive and accept something of value personally and for another person and entity, in return for being influenced in the performance of an official act and for being induced to do an act and omit to do an act in violation of his official duty," the indictment reads.
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Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York on Sept. 27, 2023.
The new indictment shows a photo of Menendez, Nadine and Hana with unidentified Egyptian officials in Menendez's Senate office in 2018. Prosecutors allege the meeting included talks of "foreign military financing to Egypt."
"Later that same day, Menendez sought from the State Department non-public information regarding the number and nationality of persons serving at the US Embassy in Cairo, Egypt," the indictment states. "Although, this information was not classified, it was deemed highly sensitive because it could pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or made public."
Last month, Menendez stepped down "temporarily" from his post as chairman on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee "until the matter has been resolved," Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., previously told Fox News.
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Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., holds a press conference as he rejects accusations of corruption and calls from fellow Democrats to step down from Congress after he was indicted for a second time on Sept. 25, 2023. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
FBI and IRS criminal investigators allege that Menendez and his wife accepted several gold bars and other gifts from Daibes, a New Jersey developer and former bank chairman accused of banking crimes. Menendez allegedly worked to help appoint a prosecutor who would be sympathetic to Daibes, according to the indictment.
The unsealed indictment alleges that from at least 2018 through 2022, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, "engaged in a corrupt relationship" with Daibes, Hana and Uribe.
The couple is accused of accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez's power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt."
DEMOCRAT SEN BOB MENENDEZ FACING INDICTMENT ON BRIBERY CHARGES
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York on Sept. 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeenah Moon)
The alleged bribes included cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and "other things of value." After the investigation was underway, Menendez reportedly disclosed that his family had accepted gold bars in 2020.
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According to prosecutors, Menendez allegedly shared confidential U.S. government information with Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman, to clandestinely support the Egyptian government. The indictment contends that Menendez exerted inappropriate pressure on a Department of Agriculture official to safeguard Hana's business monopoly granted by Egypt. In return, Hana purportedly funneled profits from his monopoly back to Menendez.
In response to the new charges, Menendez said in a statement to Fox News Digital: "The government’s latest charge flies in the face of my long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt and in challenging leaders of that country, including President El-Sisi on these issues. I have been, throughout my life, loyal to only one country — the United States of America, the land my family chose to live in democracy and freedom.
"Piling new charge upon new charge does not make the allegations true. The facts haven’t changed, only a new charge. It is an attempt to wear someone down and I will not succumb to this tactic. I again ask people who know me and my record to give me the chance to present my defense and show my innocence," Menendez said.
This story has been updated.
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