Updated July 16, 2024 at 14:22 PM ET
A federal jury in Manhattan on Tuesday found Sen. Robert Menendez guilty of using his political influence as a powerful member of Congress to benefit New Jersey businessmen as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including gold bars.
Menendez, a powerful Democrat from New Jersey who chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was convicted on all 16 counts, including bribery, obstruction of justice, acting as a foreign agent and honest services wire fraud.
“This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption—hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, a Mercedes Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual. This was politics for profit," U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said outside the courthouse. "Now that a jury has convicted Bob Menendez, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”
Immediately after the verdict was announced, the top Democrat in Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, called on Menendez to step aside: “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said in a statement.
Menendez stepped down as head of the foreign relations panel after his indictment, but stayed in the U.S. Senate and is still running for reelection in November — as an independent.
Menendez was tried alongside two businessmen accused of bribing him: Egyptian-American Wael Hana and real estate developer Fred Daibes. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against the trio.
Hana and Daibes were also found guilty on all the counts they were facing.
Menendez's wife, Nadine, was also charged in the case. She had been scheduled to face trial separately this summer after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but on Tuesday the judge delayed her trial indefinitely. No reason was given.
Prosecutors accuse her of acting as a go-between with the businessmen in order to shield her husband.
The two-month trial was marked by colorful testimony and exhibits. At one point, jurors were able to hold a gold bar that the government says was found in a search of Menendez's house. Prosecutors argued Menendez put his greed above service to the country and his constituents, while the senator's lawyers rejected the charges and said the government lacked evidence of direct bribery.
Menendez did not testify on his own behalf.
Copyright 2024 NPR
