New Jersey senior U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was charged, alongside wife, Nadine, and three others in a three-count indictment handed down by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York Friday.

In the eye-popping, 39-page indictment unsealed Sept. 22 by U.S. Attorney for SDNY Damian Williams, Menendez, Nadine Menendez and New Jersey businessmen Fred Daibes, a prominent developer; Wael Hana, who runs a halal meat certification business; and Jose Uribe, who works in the trucking and insurance business, are charged in a bribery scheme.

“From at least 2018 up to and including in or about 2022, Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, engaged in a corrupt relationship with three New Jersey associates and businessmen – Wael Hanna (aka Will Hana), Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes, the defendants – in which Sen. Menendez and Nadine Menendez agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt,” prosecutors allege in the indictment. “Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value.”

Prosecutors allege that the “corrupt relationship” resulted in Menendez promising to take – and taking – a series of official acts and breaches of official duty in exchange for bribes that benefitted him both directly, and indirectly through his wife, including:

• Promising to and using his influence and power and breaching his official duty in ways that benefitted the Egyptian government and Hana;
• Seeking to disrupt a criminal investigation and prosecution undertaken by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office related to Uribe and his associates; and
• Recommending President Joe Biden nominate a U.S. Attorney for New Jersey who Menendez believed he could influence with respect to the prosecution of Daibes, who pleaded guilty last year to a financial crime.

In June 2022, federal agencies executed search warrants at the home and safe deposit box of Menendez and his wife.

“In conducting these court-authorized searches, agents found certain of the fruits of Menendez’s and Nadine Menendez’s corrupt bribery agreement with Hana, Uribe, and Daibes, the defendants, including cash, gold, the luxury vehicle, and home furnishings,” the indictment alleges. “Over $480,000 in cash – much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe – was discovered in the home, along with over $70,000 in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of Daibes or his driver. Other of the envelopes were found inside jackets bearing Menendez’s name and hanging in his closet (with pictures depicting the findings in the indictment).”

Prosecutors say that during that search, agents also found home furnishings provided by Hana and Daibes, a luxury vehicle paid for by Uribe parked in the garage, as well as more than $100,000 worth of gold bars in the home, which they allege were provided by Hana or Daibes.

Reports and rumors of a federal probe into Menendez, who is up for re-election next year, had been circulating for some time. The senator had previously been charged in a bribery scheme involving a wealth eye doctor back in 2015 – a case that ended in a mistrial in 2017.

The three counts in this indictment include:

• Conspiracy to Commit Bribery (all defendants);
• Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud (all defendants)
• Conspiracy to Commit Extortion Under Color of Official Right (just Menendez and his wife)

SDNY prosecutors will discuss the indictment further at an 11 a.m. press conference in New York.

Representatives for Menendez and his wife did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Representatives for the other defendants did not immediately respond a request for comment or were not immediately known.

This story was originally posted at 11:07 a.m. ET Sept. 22, 2023.

UPDATED: 1:56 p.m. ET Sept. 22, 2023

Gearing up for a fight

At Friday morning’s press conference, Williams laid out the indictment and elaborated on the charges and alleged conduct. 

“As the grand jury charged, between 2018 and 2022, Sen. Menendez and his wife engaged in a corrupt relationship with Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes – three New Jersey businessmen who collectively paid hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including cash, gold, a Mercedes Benz, and other things of value – in exchange for Sen. Menendez agreeing to use his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the Government of Egypt.” 

Menendez quickly responded to the charges in a strongly worded statement that he vowed to fight the charges. 

“Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists,” said Menendez. “The excesses of these prosecutors is apparent. They have misrepresented the normal work of my congressional office. On top of that, not content with making false claims against me, they have attacked my wife for the longstanding friendships she had before she and I even met.” 

“As we explain in the indictment, there are things that Sen. Menendez says he can do for his constituents and things that he says he cannot do for his constituents. He put it all on his Senate website,” Williams continued. “For instance, it says he cannot compel an agency to act in someone’s favor. It says he cannot influence matters involving a private business. It says he cannot get involved in criminal matters or cases, period.” 

But Williams alleged that behind-the-scenes Menendez was doing those things for certain people. 

“The people who were bribing him and his wife,” said Williams. “And let me say a little bit more about the conduct that’s alleged in the indictment. The indictment alleges that Sen. Menendez took several actions as part of this corrupt relationship.” 

Williams alleged those actions – also laid out in the indictment – included Menendez using his power and influence, such as his post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

The rules of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee state that the chairman cannot serve in that role while under indictment but can still serve on the committee. 

‘[T]his investigation is very much ongoing’

The senator pointed to the prior charges and indictment he faced, which ended in the mistrial. 

“I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent,” said Menendez, who added he remains focused on his work. “And I will not be distracted by baseless allegations. They wrote these charges as they wanted; the facts are not as presented. Prosecutors did that the last time and look what a trial demonstrates. People should remember that before accepting the prosecutor’s version.” 

But Williams and his team stood by the indictment and said that their work on the case would continue. 

“My office remains firmly committed to rooting out public corruption without fear or favor, and without any regard to partisan politics,” said Williams. “That’s in our DNA – always has been, always will be. And second, this investigation is very much ongoing. We are not done. And I want to encourage anyone with information to come forward and to come forward quickly.”  

“The alleged conduct in this conspiracy damages the public’s faith in our system of government and brings undue scorn to the honest and dedicated public servants who carry out their duties on a daily basis,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith. “To those inclined to use the status of their public office for personal benefit, or those willing to provide bribes in an attempt to gain influence from a public official, the FBI will ensure that you face the consequences in the criminal justice system for your underhanded dealings.” 

The conspiracy to commit bribery count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison while the conspiracy to commit honest services fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and the count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  

Menendez closed out his statement with a plea to constituents and allies.   

“To my supporters, friends, and the community at-large, I ask that you recall the other times the prosecutors got it wrong and that you reserve judgement,” said Menendez. “I am confident that this matter will be successfully resolved once all of the facts are presented and my fellow New Jerseyans will see this for what it is.” 

Several Republicans have called for Menendez’s resignation, including potential competitors in the Senate race and, most notably so far, the Assembly Republican Leader here in New Jersey, John DiMaio, R-23rd District.  

As of this midafternoon update, no prominent Democrats in the Garden State had put out any public statements either in support or calling for Menendez’s resignation.  

The full indictment can be viewed here.  

UPDATED: 5:35 p.m. ET Sept. 22, 2023

Calls for resignation

On Friday afternoon, calls for Menendez’s resignation began to flow in from top Democratic lawmakers and leaders around New Jersey, including Gov. Phil Murphy, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-19th District, Senate President Nick Scutari, D-22nd District, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11th District, New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman LeRoy Jones and more.

“The allegations in the indictment against Senator Menendez and four other defendants are deeply disturbing,” said Murphy in a statement late Friday afternoon. “These are serious charges that implicate national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system. Under our legal system, Senator Menendez and the other defendants have not been found guilty and will have the ability to present evidence disrupting these charges, and we must respect the process. However, the alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state. Therefore, I am calling for his immediate resignation.”

Murphy would get to appoint a replacement for Menendez if he ultimately stepped down to fill the seat until next year’s election.

Coughlin said the charges laid out against Menendez go against everything public servants should believe in.

“We are given the public’s trust, and once that trust is broken, we cannot continue,” said Coughlin. “Though I know that this indictment is an accusation, not a conviction, and the senator has the right to defend himself from these charges, I believe Senator Menendez must immediately step down and allow New Jersey, and America, to move forward.”

Sherrill said in a statement, “Today is a sad day for New Jersey and I believe it’s in the best interest of our state that Senator Menendez resign.”

“The allegations laid out in today’s indictment are alarming, and they raise serious questions about the Senator’s ability to continue to serve,” said Scutari. “I strongly believe that all Americans deserve the presumption of innocence and the ability to fully defend themselves. Due to the severity of the charges brought against him today, I believe Senator Menendez must resign from office to pursue his defense and allow our state and our nation to move forward.”

Attorney General Matthew Platkin also put out a statement saying is office is aware of the details included in the indictment, referring to alleged pressure put on his office.

“The allegations are deeply disturbing to me and my Office, and we are already in the process of reviewing the concerns raised by the indictment,” said Platkin. “As the now unsealed indictment makes clear, there are allegations that Menendez attempted to pressure a senior member of this Office under a prior administration. The conduct alleged in the indictment occurred prior to my tenure as Attorney General, and involved a matter that was resolved prior to my time in office. My Office has cooperated fully with the Southern District of New York’s investigation. We will continue to do so. We are also engaged in our own independent internal inquiry into the allegations set forth in the indictment.

At the time of this update, a representative for Menendez had not immediately responded to a request for comment about the growing calls for his resignation.

UPDATED: 10:40 a.m. ET Sept. 23, 2023

Menendez statement

A representative for Menendez later shared this statement from the senator with NJBIZ: “Those who believe in justice believe in innocence until proven guilty. I intend to continue to fight for the people of New Jersey with the same success I’ve had for the past five decades. This is the same record of success these very same leaders have lauded all along. It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I am not going anywhere.”

This story remains fluid and developing; NJBIZ will continue to update with the very latest.