New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has been found guilty on all 16 counts in his federal corruption trial, including charges of bribery and conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent, a jury decided Tuesday in a Manhattan courthouse.
Menendez's co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were also found guilty on all counts they were charged with in the trial. All three pleaded not guilty. Another businessman pleaded guilty before trial and testified against Menendez and the other defendants.
The jury’s verdict followed a nine-week trial in which prosecutors said the Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.
Menendez was found guilty on the following counts:
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- COUNT ONE: Conspiracy to Commit Bribery
- COUNT TWO: Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Wire Fraud
- COUNT THREE: Conspiracy to Commit Extortion Under Color of Official Right
- COUNT FOUR: Conspiracy to Commit Obstruction of Justice
- COUNT FIVE: Bribery – Actions to Benefit Wael Hana and Egypt
- COUNT SEVEN: Honest Services Wire Fraud - Actions to Benefit Wael Hana and Egypt
- COUNT EIGHT: Extortion Under Color of Official Right – Actions to Benefit Wael Hana and Egypt
- COUNT NINE: Honest Services Wire Fraud - Actions to Benefit Jose Uribe and Uribe’s Associates
- COUNT TEN: Extortion Under Color of Official Right – Actions to Benefit Jose Uribe and Uribe’s Associates
- COUNT ELEVEN: Bribery – Actions to Benefit Fred Daibes and Qatar
- COUNT THIRTEEN: Honest Services Wire Fraud – Actions to Benefit Fred Daibes and Qatar
- COUNT FOURTEEN: Extortion Under Color of Official Right – Actions to Benefit Fred Daibes and Qatar
- COUNT FIFTEEN: Conspiracy For a Public Official to Act as a Foreign Agent
- COUNT SIXTEEN: Public Official Acting as a Foreign Agent
- COUNT SEVENTEEN: Conspiracy to Commit Obstruction of Justice
- COUNT EIGHTEEN: Obstruction of Justice
The jury began deliberating last Thursday.
Menendez, 70, did not testify. He insisted publicly he was only doing his job as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said the gold bars found in his New Jersey home by the FBI belonged to his wife.
U.S. & World
"Obviously I am deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury's decision," Sen. Menendez said outside the courthouse after the verdict was read. Menendez said he plans to appeal the verdict.
"I have never violated my public oath," the senator said. "I have never been anything been a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent, and the decision rendered by the jury today would put at risk every member of the United States Senate in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be."
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York said the case was always about "shocking levels of corruption."
"This wasn’t politics as usual; this was politics for profit. Because Senator Menendez has now been found guilty, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end," Williams said.
The judge said sentencing will take place for the three defendants, including Menendez, on Oct. 29.
Attorneys for Daibes and Hana also said they plan to appeal the guilty verdicts.
Sens. Schumer and Booker, NJ Gov. Murphy call on Menendez to resign from office
In response to Tuesday's verdict, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the chamber's majority leader, called on Menendez to resign.
"In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign," Schumer said in a post on X.
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy once again called on Menendez to resign and said the senate should expel him if he refuses to leave his office.
"Today's verdict finding Senator Bob Menendez guilty on 16 counts demonstrates that the Senator broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office. It also shows that in America, everyone – no matter how powerful – is accountable to our laws," Murphy said in a statement.
The governor said he is prepared to make an appointment to Menendez's seat should it become vacant.
Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), who is running for Menendez's senate seat in this fall's general election also called on the senator to resign.
"This is a sad and somber day for New Jersey and our country," Kim said on social media. "Our public servants should work for the people, and today we saw the people judge Senator Menendez as guilty and unfit to serve. I called on Senator Menendez to step down when these charges were first made public, and now that he has been found guilty, I believe the only course of action for him is to resign his seat immediately. The people of New Jersey deserve better."
Looking back at the trial
At closings on Wednesday, Menendez's lawyer cited patriotism as a reason to acquit his client, telling a federal jury that it would be a “win for this country” if it rejects the government’s bribery case against the Democrat.
“This case, it dies here today,” attorney Adam Fee told the Manhattan federal court jury as it heard closing arguments for a third day.
When Fee finished his closing, Menendez shook his hand. As Menendez left the courthouse, the senator told reporters: “We have stripped away the government’s false narratives and exposed their lies.”
Fee said the government had failed to prove “that Bob’s actions were anything other than what we want our elected officials to do.”
“He was doing his job. He was doing it well,” Fee added.
The attorney warned jurors to resist the temptation to embrace the government's “salacious story about a corrupt politician, because it's not there.”
Then, as he finished his argument, he made an acquittal sound patriotic, telling the jury “the United States wins when thin cases brought by overzealous prosecutors are rejected.”
“That,” Fee added, “will be a win for this country.”
Menendez, 70, had pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from 2018 to 2022 from three New Jersey businessmen and agreed to take official actions that would benefit their interests, including financially.
The New Jersey senator is on trial with two businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, who also have pleaded not guilty. Daibes is a prominent New Jersey real estate developer while Hana obtained a monopoly to certify that meat exported to Egypt complied with Islamic rules.
A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against the others during the trial. A trial for the senator's wife, Nadine Menendez, 57, has been postponed while she recovers from breast cancer surgery. She also has pleaded not guilty in the bribery case.
