NEW YORK, USA: Top United States Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty on all 16 criminal counts he faced in a closely watched corruption trial in New York. The charges against him included bribery and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. The verdict was delivered by a Manhattan federal court jury on Tuesday after over 12 hours of deliberation spread across three days.
Menendez, a prominent New Jersey lawmaker and influential figure in the Democratic Party, expressed his intention to appeal the decision. He maintained his innocence, stating, “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
Prosecutors accused Menendez and his wife of participating in multiple bribery schemes. They alleged that the couple accepted bribes from three businessmen in exchange for Menendez’s assistance. The bribes included hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and payments for car and mortgage expenses. In return, Menendez allegedly helped direct billions of dollars in US aid to Egypt, where one of the businessmen, Wael Hana, had connections with government officials. Menendez was also charged with trying to sway criminal investigations into the other two businessmen, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.
Hana and Daibes, who were co-defendants in Menendez’s trial, were also found guilty on all counts. Uribe, who pleaded guilty earlier, testified against Menendez as a prosecution witness.
During the trial, Menendez did not testify but publicly insisted that his actions were part of his duties as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His defense team tried to shift the blame onto his wife, Nadine, but the prosecution presented a detailed case implicating Menendez directly.
The conviction arrives just four months before the November US elections, jeopardizing any potential campaign Menendez might have considered as an independent candidate. Following the guilty verdict, progressive activists and Democratic lawmakers quickly called for his resignation. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group, stated that “there is no room in the Senate for a convicted felon, especially not one convicted of taking bribes.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also urged Menendez to resign. Murphy, emphasizing the breach of trust and oath of office, called on the US Senate to vote for Menendez’s expulsion if he refused to step down voluntarily.
Menendez had previously stepped down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after being charged last September but resisted calls for his resignation. In a 2022 FBI raid on Menendez’s New Jersey home, agents confiscated gold bars worth nearly $150,000 and over $480,000 in cash, some of which was hidden in boots and jackets bearing Menendez’s name.
Menendez’s wife, also charged, had her trial postponed due to recovery from breast cancer surgery. Menendez’s sentence has been scheduled for October 29, one week prior to the election on November 5 by US District Judge Sidney Stein. Menendez faces the possibility of a lengthy prison term, with the most serious charges carrying a potential sentence of 20 years.
