Embattled Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.) and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged with obstruction of justice in a new 18-count indictment unsealed Tuesday.
The new charges relate to a bribery scheme involving Egypt and Qatar.
CNN reported:
New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez was indicted on Tuesday on dozens of new criminal charges related to a years-long bribery scheme involving the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
The new charges come days after a New Jersey businessman who was previously charged alongside Menendez, his wife, Nadine Menendez, and two others, agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with the investigation.
Among the new charges in the superseding indictment are conspiracy, obstruction of justice, acting as a foreign agent of a public official, bribery, extortion and honest services fraud.
Menendez faced four counts of conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, conspiracy to commit extortion under color of right, and conspiracy against a public official to act as a foreign agent.
In January, Menendez was indicted on a second alternative indictment for praising Qatar in exchange for luxury watches.
“Menendez provided Daibis with these statements so that Daibis could share them with the Qatari investor and a Qatari government official associated with the Qatari investment company,” the indictment said, according to NBC News.
In October, Bob Menendez was charged with serving as a foreign agent in a superseding indictment.
The new indictment filed by a federal grand jury in Manhattan alleges that Menendez “provided sensitive information to the U.S. government and took other steps that secretly assisted the Egyptian government.”
Federal prosecutors announced earlier that Democratic US Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey and his wife have been indicted on bribery and corruption charges.
Federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York obtained a 3-count indictment against Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez.
Also charged were Farid Daibes, a real estate developer, New Jersey businessman Wael Hanna, and Joseph Uribe.
“The Senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes… cash, gold, mortgage payments, jobs, cars, and other things of value” in exchange for “using his power and influence to protect and enrich [New Jersey] “This deal will help businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government,” said US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damien Williams.
Damian Williams said Nadine Menendez received a “no show” or “no show” job, a Mercedes Benz and other items of value.
Special agents discovered $500,000 in cash stuffed in envelopes in lockers. “Some of the cash was stuffed in the senator's jacket pockets. Some of the cash envelopes contained De'Ebis' fingerprints and De'Ebis' DNA,” Williams said at a news conference last month.
Photos of evidence show cash, a Mercedes and gold bullion
Menendez previously used a race card after being charged.
“It's not lost on me how quickly some people rush to judge a Latino and get him out of his seat. “I'm not going anywhere,” Menendez said.
Despite being federally charged with serving as a foreign agent, Menendez still attends secret briefings.
