US Senator Bob Menendez found guilty of bribery and acting as ‘foreign agent’ for Egypt

On Tuesday, Senator Bob Menendez, former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, was found guilty by a jury.

Prosecutors accused him of acting as a “foreign agent” for Egypt and obstructing justice. Throughout the case, he was accused of receiving bribes in the form of gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

This was announced by NBC News.

Last week, federal prosecutors in New York began closing arguments in the trial of well-known Democratic Senator Robert “Bob” Menendez, who is accused of accepting lucrative bribes in exchange for using his position to favor several businessmen and the Egyptian government.

After nearly two months of trial, the jury heard today from the prosecution, which will conclude its arguments tomorrow, in which it reiterated that the gold bars seized from the residence of the senator, who chaired the powerful foreign relations committee, and the “envelopes after envelopes” of money are clear evidence of the pattern of corruption.

In exchange, the senator allegedly promised military aid to Egypt and financial gains for two businessmen from New Jersey, the state he represents, The New York Times reported.

The prosecution also spoke of the involvement of Nadine Menendez, the politician’s wife, in the bribery case in which she was also accused and is facing separate trial along with businessmen Fred Daibes and Wael Hana.

Among the gifts that the prosecution alleges the couple received is a Mercedes-Benz for Nadine that was given to her by businessman José Uribe, who asked the senator for help in 2019 to stop an investigation against him carried out by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and who, after pleading guilty, is now the government’s star witness.

Prosecutors also told jurors that Menendez, who faces a 20-year sentence, introduced businessman Daibes to a member of Qatar’s royal family because he could invest in a real estate development.

Uribe claimed at trial that he bribed Menendez by giving him a Mercedes-Benz for his then-girlfriend.

Menendez was charged in 2023 with using his power and influence, including his leadership role on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to benefit the Government of Egypt in a variety of ways; among other actions, he allegedly provided confidential government information to Egyptian officials and took actions to secretly assist the Egyptian government.

Prosecutors later upgraded the charges to include conspiring to act as a foreign agent for Egypt, making him the first senator charged under that statute and the first in the Senate’s 235-year history to be charged twice in separate bribery cases, the Times reported.