Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey, who's already facing legal trouble for bribery and corruption, is now in even deeper hot water. He's been hit with a new charge accusing him of secretly working for the Egyptian government. This is a significant issue because he was the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Just a few weeks ago, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were accused of accepting bribes from some New Jersey businesspeople. They allegedly got things like gold bars, cash, and a sports car in exchange for helping the authoritarian government.
This new charge also involves one of the businessmen from the previous case, Wael Hana. The charge suggests they all conspired to help Egypt without letting anyone know, which is against the law.
What makes this even more serious is that Menendez could be the first U.S. politician ever charged with this kind of conspiracy. He says the new charge is unfair and that he's always stood up for democracy and human rights. He insists that he's only loyal to the United States, the country his family chose for freedom and democracy.
Recent photos included in the charging papers depict Senator Menendez and his associates sharing meals with Egyptian officials in Manhattan and smiling alongside officials at his Senate office in Washington, D.C. These images are a crucial part of the prosecution's case, placing Menendez in close proximity to the individuals at the heart of the allegations.
Prosecutors also allege that in May 2019, a meeting took place at Menendez's office to discuss an American citizen injured in a 2015 airstrike by Egypt. Members of Congress opposed providing military aid to Egypt, citing the need for fair compensation to the injured American.
Following this meeting, Menendez is accused of looking up the incident online. An unnamed Egyptian official then reportedly sent a text message to Wael Hana, one of the businessmen charged alongside Menendez, promising that if the senator intervened, he would "sit very comfortably." Hana allegedly replied, "orders, consider it done."
Within a week, Hana passed the contact details of the injured American's attorney to Nadine Menendez, the senator's wife, who subsequently shared this information with her husband before deleting the texts, according to the indictment.
Senator Menendez, one of only 13 US senators in history to be indicted, continues to face mounting pressure to resign. In response to the allegations, Menendez maintains that he is the victim of a setup, asserting that his record is "clear and consistent in holding Egypt accountable."
In the chargesheet, Nadine Menendez is portrayed as a linchpin in the alleged scheme. She is described as actively communicating with Egyptian officials, offering her assistance and stating, "anytime you need anything, you have my number, and we will make everything happen." Subsequently, she is alleged to have involved her husband in one of Egypt's most critical foreign policy matters: Ethiopia's construction of a dam on the Nile River. She organized a meeting between Menendez and an Egyptian official to discuss the stalled negotiations involving Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan concerning the dam.
Menendez's involvement went beyond meetings. In the following month, he wrote to then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, expressing his concerns and urging increased State Department engagement in negotiations regarding the dam.
The earlier indictment, filed last month, accused Menendez of leaking information to Egyptian officials through his wife and Hana, posing significant security concerns. Additionally, he was charged with ghostwriting a letter on behalf of Egyptian officials to U.S. senators, pushing for the release of $300 million in aid.
Menendez and his wife are also accused of accepting cash, furniture, and one-kilogram gold bars from a real estate developer and longtime donor, Fred Daibes, in an attempt to thwart a federal case against him and influence the nomination of a prosecutor favorable to his cause by then-President Donald Trump.
When federal authorities searched Menendez's and his wife's New Jersey home last year, they allegedly discovered over $100,000 worth of gold bars and over $480,000 concealed in closets and jackets bearing the senator's name.
In an ironic twist that underscores Menendez's alleged hypocrisy, prosecutors quoted him in 2020 and 2022, aggressively calling for an investigation into an unnamed former member of Congress for failing to register as an agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. And the legal battle surrounding Senator Menendez continues to intensify.
