Sen. Bob Menendez is facing charges yet again — this time in the most cartoonish corruption scandal you can imagine
- Federal prosecutors are charging Sen. Robert Menendez in a bribery and corruption scandal.
- Menendez allegedly helped a trio of businessmen and Egypt in exchange for — among other things — gold bars.
New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez is facing charges over allegations of bribery and corruption once again, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
In the indictment from the US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York, federal officials accused Menendez, the chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of helping a trio of Egyptian businessmen in exchange for bribes — including bars of gold. The indictment alleges that Menendez "provided sensitive US government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt."
According to prosecutors, one of the main elements of the alleged scheme was an effort to make a New Jersey company, IS EG Halal Certified, Inc., a monopoly on the certification of halal standards on US food exports to Egypt. In exchange, prosecutors allege that Wael "Will" Hana, who helped run the company, provided Menendez's wife, Nadine Menendez, a "low-or-no-show job." Nadine Menendez, whom the senator married in 2020, has also been charged in the indictment.
Prosecutors allege that the job was offered in exchange for Menendez using his senatorial power to make sure that US military sales and financing continued to go through. Egypt, despite being a long-time US ally, faced criticism from the Trump administration over its human rights record and treatment of nongovernmental organizations.
In exchange, the Menendezes received "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes," according to prosecutors. They were offered everything from gold bars and a new Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible to exercise machines and an air purifier.
Later in an effort to preserve the company's standing, prosecutors allege that Menendez pressured a "high-level" US Department of Agriculture official to back down from the federal government's position that such a monopoly was detrimental to US policy. The indictment claims that Sen. Menendez even went so far as to seek out and then pressure a nominee for US Attorney for the District of New Jersey to treat the criminal prosecution of Hana's associates more favorably.
It's not the first time Menendez has been federally investigated.
In 2017, Menendez was accused of bribery, making him the first senator to go on trial for the accusation in 36 years. But those charges were eventually dropped after jurors in the case couldn't reach a verdict and a judge declared a mistrial.
Menendez is up for reelection next year. A poll last month showed that his approval had cratered in the state after news of the latest investigation became public.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.