Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and wife indicted on bribery charges, Justice Department says

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was charged Friday with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years.

Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the newly unsealed federal indictment.

Prosecutors allege the bribes included gold, cash, home mortgage payments, compensation for “low-or-no-show job” and a luxury vehicle.

Also charged are Will Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.

This is the second set of corruption charges levied against Menendez by the Justice Department in a decade. He previously fought off conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud related to alleged personal favors.

Menendez is up for re-election next year. He has been in the Senate since 2006.

Senate Democratic Caucus rules will force Menendez to step aside as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, but he can still serve on the panel. CNN has reached out to Menendez’s Senate office for comment.

Menendez has vigorously denied any wrongdoing. In April, he told CNN, “This inquiry will end up, I believe, in absolutely nothing.”

Acquitted in previous trial

Menendez was charged by federal prosecutors from the US attorney’s office in New Jersey in 2015 with conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud relating to allegedly abusing the power of his office.

Prosecutors said the senator accepted more than $600,000 in political contributions, a luxurious hotel suite at the Park Hyatt in Paris, and free rides on a private jet from a wealthy ophthalmologist, Dr. Salomon Melgen, in exchange for political favors.

The corruption trial of Menendez ended in a mistrial in November 2017 after the jury reported it was deadlocked. Both men denied all of the charges. Following the mistrial, a federal judge acquitted them of several of the charges in 2018. The Justice Department dropped the remaining charges against Menendez.

Melgen was convicted on dozens of counts of health care fraud and sentenced to 17 years in a separate case, but his sentence was commuted by then-President Donald Trump in 2021.

After his mistrial was announced in 2017, a defiant Menendez issued a warning at a news conference.

“To those who were digging my political grave so that they could jump into my seat, I know who you are, and I won’t forget you,” he said at the time.

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Source: Orange County Register