During a Monday court appearance in Manhattan, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., pleaded not guilty to a charge that he conspired to act as a foreign agent on behalf of the Egyptian government during the time when he chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

That charge came in a superseding indictment from Southern District of New York (SDNY) prosecutors earlier this month and on the heels of an original three-count indictment charging the Garden State’s senior senator for his alleged role in a bribery scheme, along with his wife, Nadine, and three New Jersey businessmen.

As NJBIZ has extensively reported, the situation has roiled through New Jersey and national politics – with prominent lawmakers from Menendez’s own party, including Gov. Phil Murphy and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., among others, calling for his resignation. Menendez has rebuffed those calls, instead digging in, vowing to fight the charges and refusing to step down. While he has not so far announced a decision on a re-election bid next year, U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd District, has announced a Democratic primary challenge. Menendez stepped down as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman and has otherwise survived the initial calls to step down, carrying on in his senatorial role.

The superseding indictment charged Menendez, his wife, and one of the co-defendants, Wael Hana, with conspiracy to act as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt, which Menendez is prohibited from doing as a member of Congress.

“From at least in or about January 2018 through at least in or about June 2022, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, Robert Menendez, Nadine Menendez, and Wael Hana, the defendants, and others known and unknown, willfully and knowingly combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed together and with each other to have a public official, to wit, Robert Menendez, act as an agent of a foreign principal, to wit, the Government of Egypt and Egyptian officials,” prosecutors alleged in the scathing and detailed superseding indictment.

Nadine Menendez and Hana pleaded not guilty to the new charge last week while the senator was given more time for his arraignment because of his senatorial duties. On Oct. 23, he pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a potential penalty of five years in prison and was released on a $100,000 bond.

Following that court appearance, Menendez put out a statement defending his record and describing the latest charge “as outrageous as it is absurd.”

“The government’s latest charge flies in the face of my long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt and in challenging leaders of that country, including President [Abdel Fattah] El-Sisi on these issues,” said Menendez in a statement. “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.”

The latest court appearance also comes on the heels of a recent Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) Poll that finds 70% of New Jerseyans want Menendez to resign because of the series of criminal charges against him; just 16% said that he should serve out his term. The poll notably showed a bulk of Democrats calling for his resignation (71%) — a number that was not much lower than Republicans (80%) and slightly higher than independents (67%).

“Menendez has been able to weather charges in the past,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at FDU, and the director of the poll. “But this time, it just doesn’t seem like he has any real support left.”

But New Jersey’s senior senator continues forging ahead – vowing to fight the charges, stay in office, and clear his name.

“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,” said Menendez. “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.”

The trial is tentatively scheduled for May.