Menendez In Court Again: NJ Senator And Wife Plead Not Guilty To Sweeping Bribery Charges

NEW JERSEY — The Garden State's senior senator appeared in court Wednesday, to face federal accusations that he took cash and gold bribes in exchange for using his political influence to benefit Egypt.

Along with his wife, Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court after a brief hearing in the lower Manhattan federal courthouse.

Even as high-ranking New Jersey Democrats like Phil Murphy and Senate colleague Cory Booker have advised Menendez to step down, the Hudson County native stands firm in assertions that he and his wife Nadine did nothing wrong.

Federal prosecutors accused the Menendezes and three New Jersey businessmen of exchanging the cash, gold, and a Mercedes-Benz for favors, as well as U.S. government secrets that helped the associates and the government of Egypt.

Menendez, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2006, has been forced to step aside as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee while the legal process unfolds.

Menendez spoke in court Wednesday only when each defendant stood to acknowledge that they understood the charges against them, per the Associated Press. A lawyer entered the not guilty plea for the senator.

The judge ordered Menendez released on a $100,000 bond, and he must surrender any personal passports; he will be allowed to keep an official passport that would allow him to travel outside the U.S. for government business. The judge ordered Menendez not to have contact outside of the presence of lawyers with his co-defendants, except for his wife.

The couple left the courthouse clutching hands, and Menendez ignored shouted questions from reporters before giving "a tight-lipped smile" as he stepped into a car, the Associated Press reported.

More than half of Senate Democrats have now said that Menendez should resign, including Booker as well as neighboring Pennsylvania's senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey.

The indictment also said Menendez used his clout to interfere in three criminal cases, pressured federal agriculture regulators to protect an associate’s business interests, and used his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee to influence U.S. policy on Egypt.

The indictment also alleges that Menendez recommended that the President nominate someone as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey that Menendez "believed he could influence" in one of the cases.

Prosecutors said Menendez met with Egyptian military and intelligence officials and passed along non-public information about employees at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, as well as ghostwriting a letter on behalf of Egypt asking his Senate colleagues to release a hold on $300 million worth of aid.

Federal agents executed search warrants at the Menendezes' home in June 2022 and also searched their safety deposit box. Agents found more than $480,000 in cash, "much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe" according to the indictment.

Menendez said the cash (including some which was stuffed in his U.S. Senate jacket) was from his own personal savings. He said Monday that he has a habit of keeping cash on hand for emergencies, because of his family's history of fearing their funds being confiscated in Cuba.

"Those who rushed to judgment, you have done so based on a limited set of facts framed by the prosecution to be a salacious as possible," Menendez said at a press conference earlier this week. "Remember, prosecutors get it wrong."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related articles:

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• Gold Bars For Govt. Documents: Feds Say NJ Sen. Menendez Aided Egypt