Sen. Menendez Charged With Acting as Egyptian Foreign Agent

Updated Oct. 12, 2023, 1:43 p.m. PST

• Federal prosecutors have filed a superseding indictment against Sen. Bob Menendez, charging him with being an unregistered agent of the Egyptian government. The indictment accuses Menendez of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires individuals to register with the government if they are acting as “an agent of a foreign principal.”
• As a member of Congress, Menendez was completely prohibited from being an agent of a foreign government, even if he had registered.
• The indictments claims that while he was chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, he worked to secretly aid Egyptian officials. It states that he “promised to take and took a series of acts on behalf of Egypt, including on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials." The indictment describes several specific incidents. 
• His trial on corruption charges will begin next May.

Updated Sept. 26, 2023, 10:36 a.m. PST

• Sen. Menendez has said he will not resign in light of an indictment on bribery charges. He has, however, resigned from his post as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
• During a Monday press conference, he said:

 "This will be the biggest fight yet, but as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be the New Jersey's senior senator. The allegations leveled against me are just that — allegations."

• Menendez is facing calls to resign from roughly half the Democrats in New Jersey's congressional delegation, as well as New Jersey's Gov. Philip Murphy (D).
• Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that Menendez "should resign in the best interest of our state."

What's the story?

• Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife, Nadine, have been indicted on bribery charges. 
• Menendez and his co-defendants, which include three New Jersey businessmen, are expected to appear at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 27, and will be arraigned later that day.
• Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the charges today. He said that Menendez has violated his commitments as a Senator and has been taking bribes throughout his term.
• The indictment comes after a year-long corruption probe led by Williams's office and is the second indictment that Menendez has faced since he began serving in the Senate. Menendez is the first sitting senator in U.S. history to be indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations.

What are the charges?

• Menendez has been charged over the alleged receipt of "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in exchange for his influence, which helped to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and assist the Egyptian government.
• The charges against Menendez include conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. The indictment also alleges that Menendez

"provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt."

• The senator allegedly pressured an official at the U.S. Agriculture Department to protect the business monopoly that was granted by Egypt to New Jersey businessman Wael Hana, who is Egyptian American. According to the indictment, Hana and Nadine Menendez "were friends for many years" before she started dating the senator. 
• The senator allegedly sought highly sensitive "non-public information" that could "pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or if made public" in May 2018. He then texted the information to Nadine, who forwarded it to Hana. Hana then forwarded it to an Egyptian government official.

What did the search warrant reveal?

• According to the charges, the couple received cash bribes, gold bars, mortgage payment assistance, luxury vehicles, compensation for a "low or no-show job,"  and "other items of value." Federal agents state that they discovered many of the items while conducting a search warrant of the couple's Englewood Cliffs home in June 2022.
• During the search, they found over $480,000 in cash "stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe."
• Agents also found a $60,000 Mercedez-Benz convertible that Hana and Jose Uribe gifted to Nadine in exchange for her husband's interference in a state criminal prosecution of Uribe's associate and an investigation into one of Uribe's relatives. 

Menendez's response

• Menendez brushed off the charges, saying:

"I remain focused on continuing this important work and will not be distracted by baseless allegations."

• Nadine Menendez's lawyer, David Schertler, said his client "denies any wrongdoing and will defend vigorously against these allegations in court."

Should Menendez resign?

-Emma Kansas

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