Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey pleaded not guilty to bribery charges, including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.
Frank Franklin II/AP/AP
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Frank Franklin II/AP/AP
A federal jury in Manhattan found Sen. Robert Menendez guilty of accepting bribes to benefit businessmen in New Jersey, as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
The Justice Department accused Menendez, 70, of using his position as a three-term Democratic senator and head of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit private interests and foreign governments, in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold and cash.
The jury found Menendez guilty of all 16 counts, including bribery, obstruction of justice, acting as a foreign agent and honest services wire fraud.
In a statement moments after the verdict, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Menendez to step aside: “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” he said.
Menendez was tried alongside two businessmen accused of bribing him: Egyptian-American Wael Hana and real estate developer Fred Daibes. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against the trio.
The jury also found Hana and Daibes guilty on all the counts against them.
Jurors had been instructed that they must be unanimous on each of the counts against the defendants in the case.
Menendez’s wife, Nadine, was also charged but is scheduled to face trial separately at a future time. Prosecutors accused her of acting as a go-between with the businessmen in order to shield her husband.
The two-month trial was marked by colorful testimony and exhibits. At one point, jurors were able to hold a gold bar that the government says was found on a search of Menendez’s house. Prosecutors argued Menendez put his greed above service to the country and his constituents, while the senator’s lawyers rejected the charges and said the government lacked evidence of direct bribery.
Menendez did not testify on his own behalf.
The senator stepped down as head of the foreign relations panel after his indictment, but stayed in the U.S. Senate and is still running for reelection in November — as an independent.
This is the second federal criminal trial for Menendez. He was indicted in 2015 on unrelated federal corruption and bribery charges. A jury in that case could not reach a unanimous verdict and the judge declared a mistrial.