Sen. Bob Menéndez convicted on bribery and corruption charges linked to Egypt

Sen. Bob Menéndez, a frequent critic of the Biden administration's foreign policies on Iran and Cuba, was found guilty this Tuesday of all 16 charges brought against him in a corruption trial. The charges include accepting bribes in the form of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen, as well as acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. The charges were all in the form of bribery, corruption and illegal foreign-agent offenses.

The trial, which lasted nine weeks, exposed the Democratic senator’s maneuvers to use his position of power to benefit himself and his associates. Federal prosecutors representing the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York presented compelling evidence that Menendez, 70, abused his position to protect his allies from criminal investigations, enriching his wife and others close to him. The actions included meetings with Egyptian intelligence officials and facilitating Egypt’s access to millions of dollars in American military aid.

Menendez chose not to testify during the trial, publicly insisting on his innocence and stating that he was only carrying out his duties as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He also defended himself by saying that the gold bars found in his home belonged to his wife, Nadine Menéndez, who also faces charges, but whose trial was postponed due to breast cancer surgery.

The case developed from an FBI raid in June 2022 at the couple's residence in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. At the house, agents discovered gold bars valued at nearly $150,000 and more than $480,000 in cash, mostly in $100 bills, hidden in the senator's boots, shoe boxes and jackets. In the garage they found a Mercedes-Benz convertible, all considered by prosecutors to be the result of bribes.

Prosecutors argued that the gold, cash and car were illicit payments received by Menendez in exchange for political favors. Menéndez's defense lawyers denied these accusations, claiming that the gold belonged to his wife and that she had hidden serious financial problems, while the cash came from the senator’s habit of hoarding cash at home, influenced by the history of his parents, who escaped from Cuba in 1951 and hid the little cash they had.

“It’s a Cuban thing,” Menendez’s sister, Caridad Gonzalez, who is in her 80s, testified of her family. “They were afraid of losing what they worked so hard for.”

One of the most alarming aspects of the case were the accusations that Menéndez used his influence to favor the Egyptian government. Prosecutors presented evidence that Nadine Menendez acted as an intermediary between her husband and Egyptian officials, facilitating meetings and negotiations that included text messages with an Egyptian general and arranging a visit to Washington for the head of Egypt's intelligence service. In a message to a general, Nadine Menendez wrote: “Every time you need something, you have my number and we will make it all happen.”

The verdict comes just four months before the election, ruining Menéndez's chances of campaigning for re-election as an independent candidate. This trial marks the second time the New Jersey based U.S. senator has faced corruption allegations, after a similar trial in 2017 that ended with a deadlocked jury.

The other defendants, two New Jersey businessmen, were also convicted of the charges brought against them. One of them, José Uribe, pleaded guilty before the trial and testified against Menéndez and the other defendants. The investigation and evidence presented demonstrated that the bribes not only enriched Menendez and his associates, but also compromised the integrity of his office and national security.

It is currently unclear how the conviction will affect Menendez’s position in the Senate or his 2024 bid for reelection, but The Wall Street Journal called the conviction, “a likely death blow to the longtime New Jersey lawmaker’s political career.”

Menéndez, whose political career began in 1974, has had a career marked by achievements and controversies. He was elected to the United States Senate in 2006 and has served in various leadership capacities, including his role on the Foreign Relations Committee.

Menéndez has claimed that the accusations against him are an attempt at persecution, claiming that some cannot accept that “a first-generation Latin American from humble origins could become a United States senator.”