Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife have been indicted on charges of bribery. Federal prosecutors announced the charges against the 69-year-old Democrat, nearly six years after an earlier criminal case against him ended with a deadlocked jury. A search of Bob Menendez’s home revealed $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash. This recent indictment is unrelated to the previous charges that alleged Menendez accepted extravagant gifts to pressure government officials on behalf of a Florida doctor. According to the Senate Historical Office, Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in US history to be indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations. Menendez faces reelection next year to extend his three-decade career in Washington, and as Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.
The first time Menendez was indicted, he was accused of using his political influence to benefit a Florida eye doctor who had showered him with gifts and campaign contributions. These new charges come after a lengthy investigation that examined various aspects, including the activities of a New Jersey businessman— a friend of Menendez’s wife—who obtained exclusive authorization from the Egyptian government to certify that meat imported into Egypt meets the Islamic dietary requirements. Investigators also looked into the interactions between the Menendez family and a New Jersey developer.
Menendez’s political future seemed bleak in 2015, when a federal grand jury in New Jersey indicted him on multiple charges related to favors he did for his friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen. He was accused of pressuring government officials to settle a Medicare billing dispute in Melgen’s favor, obtaining visas for the doctor’s girlfriends, and safeguarding a contract the doctor had to supply port-screening equipment to the Dominican Republic. Menendez has consistently maintained his innocence. His attorneys argued that the campaign contributions and gifts from Melgen— including trips on his private jet to the Dominican Republic and a vacation in Paris— were tokens of their long-standing friendship, not bribes. The case was eventually dropped in 2017 after a hung jury and the dismissal of some counts by a judge.
The Senate Ethics Committee later reprimanded Menendez, concluding that he had wrongly accepted gifts, failed to disclose them, and used his influence to advance Melgen’s personal interests. However, a few months later, Menendez was reelected by the voters of New Jersey. Melgen was convicted of health care fraud in 2017, but his sentence was commuted by former President Trump. Menendez is widely expected to run for reelection next year. While at least two other senators— Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas; Richard Kenney, D-Delaware— have been indicted on multiple occasions while in office, their indictments were for overlapping allegations. Both senators were not convicted and completed their full terms in office.
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