US Senator Bob Menendez will return to court on Monday to submit what is anticipated to be a not guilty plea to a conspiracy allegation that claims he worked as the Egyptian government’s agent while serving as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Menendez, 69, was due to appear in federal court in Manhattan in the afternoon before Judge Sidney H. Stein.
The senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, allegedly took bribes from three New Jersey businesses over the previous five years in the form of cash, gold bars, and a luxury automobile in exchange for a range of illicit activities, according to the prosecution. A new accusation stated that the senator, his wife, and one of the businesspeople plotted to have Menendez operate as an agent of the Egyptian government and authorities.
Menendez is accused of, among other things, providing the Egyptians with information about the employees at the US embassy in Cairo, ghostwriting a letter on Egypt’s behalf to sway other senators, and urging the US State Department to participate more actively in international negotiations to thwart a dam project Egypt opposed.
Last Monday, the other defendants responded to a superseding indictment by entering not guilty pleas. The senator’s arraignment was postponed so he could attend to Senate business.
After being accused earlier this month, the Democrat resigned from his important position as chair of the Senate committee. More than 30 fellow Democrats have called on Menendez to quit, but he has refused.
