Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is seen after addressing colleagues at a Democratic senate luncheon in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, September 28, 2023.
- Sen. Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty to a federal indictment accusing him of conspiring to act as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
- The brief hearing marked the second time in less than four weeks that the Democratic senator from New Jersey was arraigned on criminal charges related to his alleged abuse of office.
- Menendez, who is up for reelection next year, has denied wrongdoing and vowed not to resign.
Sen. Bob Menendez on Monday pleaded not guilty to a federal indictment accusing him of conspiring to act as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
The arraignment in federal court in Manhattan marked the second time in less than four weeks that the Democratic senator from New Jersey entered a plea on criminal charges related to his alleged abuse of office.
Menendez, who is up for reelection next year, has denied wrongdoing and vowed not to resign.
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"We are innocent. We are going to prove it," Menendez said in Spanish after leaving the court hearing, which lasted less than five minutes.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged last month with accepting a range of bribes — including gold bars, cash, home mortgage payments and a Mercedes-Benz convertible — as part of a yearslong "corrupt relationship" with three New Jersey businessmen.
That indictment accused Menendez of using his power and influence in ways that "secretly aided the Government of Egypt," including by sharing "sensitive U.S. Government information."
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The senator and his wife pleaded not guilty on Sept. 27 to the initial three-count indictment, which charged them both with conspiring to commit bribery, honest services fraud and extortion under color of official right.
In mid-October, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment in the same case, charging Menendez, his wife and one of the businessmen, Wael Hana, with conspiring for a public official to act as a foreign agent.
The new criminal count alleges that they "willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other" to have Menendez unlawfully "act as an agent of a foreign principal."
Four of the co-defendants in the case pleaded not guilty last week to the charges in that updated indictment. Menendez had been granted a delay of his arraignment in order to cast previously scheduled votes in the Senate.
What's next for Menendez and Senate Democrats?
Menendez, who has been in the Senate for 17 years, has stepped down from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as he fights his criminal charges.
As Senate Democrats look to hold onto their slim majority in the chamber past the 2024 election cycle, many have openly called for Menendez to resign.
If he does step down, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy could appoint a successor to serve out the rest of his term. Murphy, a Democrat, has also urged Menendez to resign.
But the senator, who previously faced unrelated bribery charges in a separate case that ended in a mistrial in 2017, has remained defiant.
"Anyone who knows my record, knows this latest charge is as outrageous as it is absurd," Menendez said in a statement to NBC News after Monday's hearing.
"I have been, throughout my life, loyal to only one country — the United States of America, the land my family chose to live in democracy and freedom," he said.
"The facts haven't changed. The government is engaged in primitive hunting, by which the predator chases its prey until it's exhausted and then kills it."
"This tactic won't work," Menendez said in the statement. "I will not litigate this case through the press, but have made it abundantly clear that I have done nothing wrong and once all the facts are presented will be found innocent."
