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US senator Robert Menendez faces charges of conspiring to act as a foreign agent for Egypt, intensifying a criminal case accusing the former chair of the influential Senate foreign relations committee of accepting bribes to benefit Cairo.
In a superseding indictment filed on Thursday, federal prosecutors allege that Menendez, a Democrat, secretly “provided sensitive US government information and took other steps that aided the government of Egypt.”
The New Jersey senator, his wife Nadine, and an Egyptian-American businessman allegedly conspired between 2018 and 2022 to have Menendez work as a foreign agent for Egypt, one of the largest recipients of US military aid, according to the court filing.
Due to concerns about human rights and democracy, lawmakers often opposed providing Egypt with more military funding or sales, the indictment stated. However, as chair of the Senate foreign relations committee, Menendez had significant influence over foreign military financing and sales to Egypt.
Prosecutors further alleged that Menendez had exerted his influence on multiple occasions, including secretly editing and ghostwriting a letter on behalf of Egypt, requesting other senators to release a hold on $300 million in aid. The letter was drafted by an unnamed Egyptian official and passed on to Menendez by Nadine Menendez.
The new charges expand on an indictment filed last month, which accused the couple and three New Jersey businessmen of having a corrupt relationship involving cash gifts, gold bars, mortgage payments, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible.
The indictment adds pressure on Menendez, who has stepped down as chair of the foreign relations committee but has resisted calls from Democratic lawmakers to resign.
John Fetterman, a Democratic representative from Pennsylvania, was one of the first lawmakers to call for Menendez’s resignation. Fetterman demanded a Senate vote to expel him, stating, “We cannot have an alleged foreign agent in the United States Senate.” Expelling a sitting senator requires a two-thirds majority vote.
The charges cast a shadow over Menendez, a prominent member of the Democratic party who has been in Congress for decades, serving in the House of Representatives for six terms before being appointed to the Senate in 2006.
A representative for Menendez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The senator has denied the allegations in the original indictment, accusing undisclosed forces of attempting to silence him and run a smear campaign against him and his wife.
According to the original indictment, Menendez allegedly pressured a Department of Agriculture official to protect a monopoly connected to the certification of halal food exports linked to one of the co-defendants, granted by Egypt.
Prosecutors also claimed that Menendez used his influence to hinder a criminal investigation and prosecution initiated by the New Jersey attorney-general’s office against an associate of one of the co-defendants.
The original indictment included photos of the alleged bribe proceeds, which were discovered during a raid on Menendez’s home and safe deposit box last summer. Authorities found over $480,000 in cash, much of it hidden in envelopes and clothing, as well as over $70,000 in a box belonging to Menendez’s wife.
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