Sen. Menendez Acted As Foreign Agent, New Indictment Charges

NEW JERSEY — Federal prosecutors in New York City have rewritten the indictment against New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and his wife, charging the senator with being an unregistered foreign agent of the Egyptian government.

The superseding indictment was filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, as the Associated Press reported. It accuses Menendez of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires people to register with the U.S. government if they are acting as “an agent of a foreign principal.”

As a member of Congress, Menendez was prohibited from being an agent of a foreign government, even if he did register as one.

The indictment alleges that the Garden State's senior senator "provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt," documents show.

The superseding indictment comes just weeks after authorities accused Menendez and his wife Nadine of accepting bribes of gold bars, cash, and a car from businessmen who sought the senator’s help and influence over foreign affairs. The couple have pleaded not guilty.

According to the AP, the indictment says the conspiracy occurred from January 2018 to June 2022.

The new indictment says a conspiracy occurred from January 2018 to June 2022, alleging that Menendez “promised to take and took a series of acts on behalf of Egypt, including on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials.” It said he conspired to do so with his wife, Nadine, and a business associate and fellow defendant, Wael Hana.

According to the indictment, Hana and Nadine Menendez also communicated requests and directives from Egyptian officials to Menendez.

The indictment alleges that in May 2019, Menendez, his wife, and Hana met with an Egyptian intelligence official in Menendez’s Senate office in Washington.

During the meeting, they discussed an American citizen who was seriously injured in a 2015 airstrike by the Egyptian military using a U.S.-made Apache helicopter, the indictment says. Some members of Congress objected to awarding certain military aid to Egypt over that episode and the perception by certain lawmakers that the Egyptian government was not willing to fairly compensate the injured American citizen, according to the indictment.

Shortly after the meeting in Washington, the Egyptian official texted Hana that if Menendez helped resolve the matter, “he will sit very comfortably.” Hana replied with “Orders, consider it done,” according to the indictment.

This article contains reporting from the Associated Press.