Defiant Menendez pleads not guilty
U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey pleaded not guilty Wednesday to federal charges accusing him of pocketing bribes of cash and gold bars in exchange for wielding his political influence to secretly advance Egyptian interests and do favors for local businessmen.
Menendez led his wife, Nadine, who also pleaded not guilty in the case, by the hand out of the courtroom after the brief hearing in the lower Manhattan federal courthouse days after prosecutors unsealed an indictment alleging vast corruption by the Democrat.
A defiant Menendez has said allegations that he abused his power to line his pockets are baseless. He has said he is confident he will be exonerated and has no intention of leaving the Senate.
Still, calls for Menendez to resign continued to mount on Wednesday with Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, saying “he should step down.” More than half of Senate Democrats have now said that Menendez should resign.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking to reporters hours after Menendez’s court appearance, did not call for his resignation and said Menendez would address his Democratic colleagues on Thursday. “We all know that for senators, there’s a much much higher standard. And clearly, when you read the indictment, Sen. Menendez fell way, way below that standard,” said Schumer, D-N.Y.
The senator, who was forced to step down as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee after being indicted, was released on a $100,000 bond.
It’s the second corruption case in a decade against Menendez, whose last trial ended with jurors failing to reach a verdict in 2017.
Authorities say they found nearly $500,000 in cash, much of it hidden in clothing and closets, as well as more than $100,000 in gold bars in a search of the New Jersey home Menendez, 69, shares with his wife.
Menendez’s wife was released on $250,000 bond secured by her New Jersey home. Prosecutors say she played a key role in collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes from three New Jersey businessmen seeking help from the longtime lawmaker.
Prosecutors allege repeated actions by Menendez to benefit the authoritarian government of Egypt. They say Menendez also tried to interfere in criminal investigations involving associates, in one case pushing to install in New Jersey a federal prosecutor who he believed he could influence to derail a case.
Two of the businessmen, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, also pleaded not guilty and were freed pending trial. The third, Wael Hana, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges including conspiracy to commit bribery.