Democratic Party Senator Bob Menendez, who headed the powerful US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been convicted on multiple charges of acting as a “foreign agent” for Egypt and corruption.
The jury reached the verdict Tuesday in a federal court in New York following a trial involving 13 gold bars and a stack of $480,000 in notes found at the New Jersey senator’s home and a Mercedes-Benz gifted to his wife.
Prosecutors said Menendez had met with Egyptian intelligence officials and attempted to deliver millions of dollars in military aid to that country.
The conviction ends a 50-year political career for the 70-year senator, who was the son of Cuban immigrants and rose to leadership positions in the Senate, where he served for 18 years.
Chuck Schumer, leader of the Senate majority Democratic Party, demanded his immediate resignation before his term ends on the last day of December.
Menendez plans to run for re-election as an independent candidate.
Claiming his innocence while leaving the court, he said, “I have always been a patriot for my country and my nation.”
“Now that a jury has convicted Bob Menendez, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder has finally come to an end,” said Damian Williams, the prosecutor appointed by President Joe Biden.
Menendez was convicted of 16 charges, including wire fraud (using telecommunications for fraudulent activities), bribery, and extortion.
Two businessmen were also convicted of giving bribes.
His second wife, Nadine Menendez, was charged in connection with the case, but her trial has been delayed as she undergoes treatment for cancer.
During Menendez’s trial, lawyers attempted to put the blame on his wife, saying the gold bricks found in their home were in their bedroom and were her own and that she had money problems that she hid from the senator in an effort to amass wealth.
But the prosecution countered, saying there were conversations between them that showed he was involved in the plans.
In a dramatic moment during the trial, Menendez’s sister Caridad Gonzalez testified that as Cuban refugees, it was a tradition in her family to keep cash in their homes because of the insecurity they faced.
One strange story that surfaced in the case involved a businessman who bribed Menendez to certify U.S. beef exported to Egypt as halal after the senator intervened.
Menendez was also accused of using his power to induce New Jersey prosecutors to thwart an insurance fraud case against two businessmen, one of whom pleaded guilty to bribery charges and said he gave a Mercedes-Benz car to the senator’s wife.
In another corruption case involving a member of Congress, Democratic Party Representative Henry Cuellar and his wife have been charged by the Texas Department of Justice with bribery and money laundering involving a Mexican bank and an Azerbaijani-controlled oil and gas company.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
