Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was found guilty on all counts Monday after being tried on charges of accepting bribes, including cash and gold bars, to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who prosecuted the case, praised the verdict, stating Menendez’s “years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”
Menendez showed no emotion as some of the verdict was read, with his hands crossed and chin resting on his hands. He shook his head in disagreement as the jurors were polled. Some of his family members broke down in tears. He’ll be sentenced on Oct. 29.
Outside the courthouse, Menendez expressed his disappointment, predicting success on appeal. “I have never violated my public oath,” he said. He did not address questions about resignation.
Menendez faced 16 counts, including bribery, extortion, acting as a foreign agent, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. He pleaded not guilty, as did his wife, Nadine Menendez, whose trial was delayed indefinitely due to her surgery after a breast cancer diagnosis.
The jury took about 12½ hours over three days to reach their verdict.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for Menendez’s resignation after the jury’s decision. “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.
Previously, Schumer expressed disappointment in Menendez but had stopped short of calling for his resignation.
Prosecutors argued that three businessmen paid bribes to Menendez and his wife in exchange for the senator’s actions benefiting them and the governments of Qatar and Egypt. These bribes included gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz given to Nadine Menendez, and over $480,000 in cash found in their home during an FBI search in 2022.
Businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes were also tried and convicted. The third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified during the trial, which lasted nine weeks.
Menendez did not testify in his defense. His team argued he was acting on behalf of his constituents, and the government had not proven the cash or gold bars were bribes.
Menendez’s sister, Caridad Gonzalez, testified in his defense, explaining their father’s distrust of banks due to their Cuban immigrant background.
Prosecutors highlighted that some cash envelopes had fingerprints of Daibes and Hana’s associates. Prosecutor Paul Monteleone told jurors Menendez was “desperately trying to pass the buck.”
The verdict comes months before Menendez’s Senate seat is up for election in New Jersey. Menendez decided not to seek the Democratic nomination and filed to run as an independent, complicating the race. The Democratic nominee is Rep. Andy Kim, and the Republican nominee is Curtis Bashaw.
Menendez must now decide whether to continue his run. In March, he indicated his candidacy might depend on exoneration.
Kim commented after the verdict, saying, “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.”
This is Menendez’s second corruption trial in his 18-year Senate career. The first trial in 2018 ended in a mistrial, and the Justice Department dropped the charges. Menendez had denied wrongdoing.
Menendez, a Senate member since 2006, also served 13 years in the House and was Union City mayor in the mid-1980s.
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has led the push for Menendez’s resignation, joined by a majority of Senate Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and other state Democratic representatives.
Menendez stepped down as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman but remains a voting member.
No provision prevents a convicted senator from serving out their term. If Menendez doesn’t resign, the Senate could move for expulsion, starting with an Ethics Committee investigation. The committee plans to complete the investigation promptly and consider all disciplinary actions. Expulsion requires a two-thirds Senate vote.
Thirty-one Democratic senators called for his resignation before the conviction.
Since 1789, the Senate has expelled 15 members, 14 for Confederacy roles. The last expulsion was in 1862. Six senators have been convicted of crimes since then, with three resigning, two serving out terms, and one dying before Senate action.