Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey was indicted on federal bribery charges on Friday morning following a yearlong corruption investigation.
In a federal indictment obtained by CNN, the senator and his wife, Nadine Mendendez, are both accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes in exchange for using the senator’s “‘power and influence.”
The alleged crimes took place from 2018 until last year, the Justice Department said.
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The couple are accused of accepting bribes from three New Jersey businessmen, one with an alleged connection to the Egyptian government.
The three men accused of paying the couple were named in the indictment as Will Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.
Each of the three is charged in the Southern District of New York with conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.
Menendez and his wife are each charged with corruption, accepting bribes and conspiracy.
It is alleged the senator was bribed by the three businessmen with a car, cash, gold and other goods, including mortgage payments.
The DOJ executed a search warrant at the Democrat’s home last year, the federal government said.
The 39-page indictment included images of stacks of cash that investigators said were stuffed inside jackets that were hanging in the lawmaker’s closet.
The indictment: “Over $480,000 in cash–much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe–was discovered in the home … envelopes were found inside jackets bearing MENENDEZ’s name and hanging in his closet ” pic.twitter.com/w3ioJyuIrf
Should lawmakers convicted of corruption face harsher punishment?— Katie Jennings (@katiedjennings) September 22, 2023
In total, it is alleged that a sum of $486,461 in cash was found on the premises.
Investigators also said they seized almost $80,000 in cash and other items from a safe deposit box that allegedly belonged to the couple.
Per the indictment, Menendez used his influence to protect Uribe and Diabes by recommending a prosecutor in a case involving the latter who he believed would be easily influenced.
It is also alleged the senator, who is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, provided “substantial military aid to Egypt” by giving away sensitive information and grants to the country’s military.
The indictment alleges that Menendez “provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt,” including by supporting the authorization of arms sales to the country.
Friday was not the first time the senator has been charged with corruption. In 2015, Menendez went on trial for allegedly accepting improper gifts.
The jury could not reach a verdict in the case, and it was not retried by prosecutors.
Menendez had not yet commented on the indictment Friday morning.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
