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NJ Sen. Bob Menendez pleads not guilty to bribery and corruption charges
By
Nancy Solomon
,
Samantha Max
and
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Sep 27, 2023
Modified Oct 5, 2023
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(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By
Nancy Solomon
,
Samantha Max
and
Michelle Bocanegra
Published Sep 27, 2023
Modified Oct 5, 2023
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Sen. Bob Menendez, his wife and two other defendants pleaded not guilty Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan on bribery and corruption charges.
He left the courthouse without speaking to press on Wednesday, but has previously said he plans to fight the charges. Menendez said on Monday that the hundreds of thousands of dollars federal officials described finding hidden in envelopes throughout his home were obtained legally and were stashed there for emergencies.
The senior senator from New Jersey is accused of conspiring with his wife of three years, Nadine, and three businessmen to accept money, gold bars, a Mercedes Benz, and other gifts in exchange for doing favors for Egypt and trying to interfere with criminal investigations.
Two of the businessmen — Fred Daibes, a real estate developer, and Jose Uribe, who works in trucking and insurance — also entered their not guilty pleas on Wednesday, and also left without speaking to press.
Another New Jersey businessman implicated in the alleged scheme – Wael Hana, the owner of a halal meat certification business – was arrested upon returning to the U.S. from Egypt on Tuesday morning and arraigned. He pleaded guilty, was released on $5 million personal bond and must wear a GPS monitoring device.
Menendez appeared before U.S. magistrate Ona T. Wang in a dark suit, white shirt and navy blue tie. Nadine Menendez sat on the other side of their attorneys wearing a white blouse and black pants, with her light blond hair pulled tightly in a ponytail with a gray scrunchie.
All five defendants are accused of one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, which under federal law is defined as a scheme to defraud another of the intangible right to honest services through bribery or kickbacks. The senator and his wife are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, a federal law that makes it illegal for public officials to accept, or even agree to accept, a payment to which they are not entitled.
Prosecutors say that as part of the scheme, Hana secured monopoly rights for halal meat exports from the U.S. to Egypt – a lucrative arrangement that they say helped fund some of the bribes.
Menendez is accused of meeting with Egyptian officials and using his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to open up arms sales to Egypt. Prosecutors also say he ghostwrote a letter from Egyptian officials seeking U.S. aid.
Menendez was released on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond and had to surrender his personal passport. He is not allowed to apply for any new travel documents — but will still be allowed to leave the country for official business.
Nadine Menendez was released on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond secured by her residence in Englewood Cliffs, with her travel limited to New Jersey, New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.
The Menendezes are barred from any contact with the other defendants. Uribe was released on a $1 million bond, and Daibes on a $2 million bond. Daibes additionally is currently free on a $10 million bond in another case.
The next conference in the case is set for Oct. 2.
After the courtroom cleared Wednesday, the Menendezes remained. The senator bounced on his toes while speaking with his attorneys. The couple left holding hands, flanked by attorneys and officers as they entered a private elevator.
This is the second federal indictment of New Jersey’s senior senator. In 2017, he was tried for bribery and corruption in a case related to a Florida eye doctor that ended in a hung jury. During that trial, both New Jersey and Senate Democrats stood by him. But the current allegations against Menendez are much more serious and leading Democrats have called for his resignation, including Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker.
“A jury of his peers will make the ultimate decision as to whether he is criminally guilty. There is, however, another higher standard for public officials, one not of criminal law but of common ideals,” Booker said on Tuesday in a written statement.
Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District, has announced he will run for Menendez's seat in next year's primary, and many others are expected to jump into the race.
The indictment alleges that Hana arranged a secret meeting between Menendez and Egyptian government officials. Concerns over human rights violations in Egypt were holding up the country's clearance to purchase U.S. weapons. Prosecutors say Menendez helped get the arms deal pushed through and, in exchange, Hana got a monopoly on meat exports to Egypt. The indictment says that Hana paid Menendez in cash and gold with Daibes' help.
It additionally alleges that Menendez met with a senior official in the New Jersey state attorney general’s office, during AG Gurbir Grewal’s administration, to seek help with an investigation into Uribe. It also says he withheld support for current U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip R. Sellinger as the Biden administration was considering an appointment to the post – Menendez only offered it after being convinced Sellinger could help affect a case involving an associate of Daibes. The indictment does not accuse Sellinger of any wrongdoing.
Uribe allegedly paid for a Mercedes Benz convertible for Nadine Menendez. He stopped making payments after the FBI raided the Menendezes' home in June 2022, the indictment says.
Calls for Menendez's resignation continued to mount on Wednesday from other senators and prominent Democrats. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said on X that New Jersey leaders had “made it clear that Sen. Menendez can no longer serve.” Kirsten Gillibrand said on Tuesday that Menendez should resign, but her fellow New York senator, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, has yet to do so.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, in saying on Wednesday that Menendez should resign, additionally took issue with Menendez’ statement last week that it “is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat.”
"Latinos face barriers and discrimination across the board in so many categories, including in our justice system. This is not that," Aguilar said at a press conference on Wednesday, NBC reports. "What we read in the indictment and the charges, we should not conflate the discrimination and the issues and barriers Latinos have in the justice system and across industries to what we see there today.”
Menendez indictment: What to know
- It’s the second time Menendez has faced a bribery indictment, but the last ended in a hung jury.
- Prosecutors say Menendez and his wife took gold bars, a luxury vehicle, $480,000 in cash and financial favors. Menendez denies the allegations.
- The indictment says Egypt gave one of the businessmen a lucrative halal meat contract that helped fund the bribes.
- Menendez is also accused of abusing his influence to help Egypt, including ghostwriting a letter for Egyptian officials seeking U.S. aid.
- Here's a breakdown of the key figures discussed in the indictment.
- Top New Jersey Democrats are calling for his resignation. So are Sens. Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand.
- Menendez is up for re-election in 2024. He's vowed to fight the charges.
Tagged
public safety
new jersey
Politics
Nancy Solomon
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Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Michelle Bocanegra
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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