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, hailed the verdict, saying Menendez’s “years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”
Menendez showed little emotion as the verdict was read, shaking his head in disagreement as jurors were polled. Some of his family members broke down in tears. He’ll be sentenced on Oct. 29.
Menendez told reporters he was “deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision” and predicted, “we will be successful upon appeal.”
“I have never violated my public oath,” he said. He did not answer questions about whether he would resign.
Menendez was charged with 16 counts, including bribery, extortion, acting as a foreign agent, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy. He had pleaded not guilty, as did his wife, Nadine Menendez, whose trial was delayed indefinitely following surgery after a breast cancer diagnosis.
The jury deliberated for about 12½ hours over three days before returning the verdicts.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Menendez to resign after the verdict. “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” said Schumer.
Schumer had previously expressed disappointment in Menendez but had stopped short of calling for his resignation.
Prosecutors said three businessmen paid bribes to Menendez and his wife in exchange for actions benefiting them and the governments of Qatar and Egypt. The bribes included gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz, and more than $480,000 in cash, found stuffed into closets, jackets, and other clothing during an FBI search of Menendez’s New Jersey home in 2022.
Two businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, faced trial alongside Menendez and were also convicted. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified during the nine-week trial.
Menendez did not testify in his defense. His legal team argued that he was acting on behalf of his constituents and that the government had not proven the cash or gold bars were bribes.
Sen. Menendez’s sister, Caridad Gonzalez, testified that their father, a Cuban immigrant, discouraged them from trusting banks, explaining the large amounts of cash found at Menendez’s home.
Prosecutors noted that some cash envelopes in the Menendezes’ home had Daibes’ fingerprints, while others had prints of Hana’s associates.
The verdict comes months before Menendez’s Senate seat is up for election. He had decided not to seek the Democratic nomination but filed to run as an independent, complicating the race for the Democrats. The Democratic nominee is Rep. Andy Kim, and the Republican nominee is Curtis Bashaw.
Menendez must now decide whether to continue his campaign. He previously indicated his candidacy might depend on being exonerated.
Kim stated that Menendez should resign immediately, calling it “a sad and somber day for New Jersey and our country.”
This was Menendez’s second corruption trial; his previous trial in 2018 ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. The Justice Department subsequently dropped the charges. Menendez denied wrongdoing in both cases.
Menendez, who served for 13 years in the House before his 2006 Senate election, has had a political career spanning nearly four decades. He stepped aside as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but remained a voting member.
There is no provision barring a senator convicted of a felony from serving out his term. If Menendez doesn’t resign, the Senate could move to expel him, which would require a two-thirds Senate vote.
Thirty-one Democratic senators had called for Menendez to resign before the conviction.
Since 1789, the Senate has expelled only 15 members, largely for roles in the Confederacy. The last expulsion occurred in 1862.