No. 2 Senate Democrat calls on Menendez to step down
From CNN's Clare Foran
Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat and chair of the Judiciary Committee, called on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign amid bribery charges.
“Leaders in New Jersey, including the Governor and my Senate colleague Cory Booker, have made it clear that Sen. Menendez can no longer serve. He should step down,” Durbin wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Earlier Wednesday, Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen also said Menendez should resign.
“Having served with Senator Menendez in the Senate, I have seen his hard work on behalf of the people of New Jersey. Now, as he faces serious, specific, and deeply concerning criminal charges, he is entitled to the presumption of innocence and due process. However, as a public servant, he has a duty to uphold the standard of public trust and to protect the integrity of the institution of the Senate and, for those reasons, it is best that he step down,” he said.
Here's who else has called on Menendez to step down.
CNN's Kristin Wilson and Haley Talbot contributed reporting to this post.
Menendez co-defendant Wael Hana pleads not guilty in alleged bribery scheme
From CNN's Lauren del Valle
Wael Hana, an alleged co-conspirator indicted in a bribery scheme with New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, pleaded not guilty and was released on bail in federal court Tuesday.
Hana was arrested Tuesday morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport upon his return from Egypt, his attorney Larry Lustberg told reporters after the hearing. His wife and children remain in Egypt where they all live much of the year. Hana returned to the US to face the charges, Lustberg said.
Hana was charged in an indictment last week with Menendez and others and faces one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, which carry maximum prison sentences of five and 20 years respectively.
Prosecutors allege that he facilitated an agreement to provide bribes to the senator and his now-wife in exchange for the senator’s influence in matters benefiting himself, the Egyptian government and others. The couple has denied wrongdoing.
Hana is being released on a $5 million personal recognizance bond and surrendered his travel documents. He’s also subject to GPS location monitoring and a curfew requiring him to be at his New Jersey home from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. local time.
All of his shares in his company Capital Management EG will also be held as collateral for his release. Lustberg said Hana will try to run his halal business but whether the business will survive remains to be seen. Hana is also banned from contact with co-defendants and case witnesses without attorneys present.
Prosecutors allege Menendez, who held significant influence as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, agreed and sought to pressure a senior official at the US Department of Agriculture in an effort to protect a business monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt.
The Department of Agriculture in 2019 had contacted Egypt to object to it giving Menendez’s contact, Hana, monopoly rights related to supplying halal meat to the US.
According to the indictment, the senator’s wife, Nadine, facilitated meetings with Hana and Egyptian officials requesting military sales and financing.
Lustberg said Hana has been friends with Nadine Menendez for many years, long before she began dating the senator in 2018. The attorney also said he wouldn’t consider the New Jersey Democrat to be a friend of Hana and said he’s unaware if Hana has any connections with Egyptian intelligence.
The Egyptian businessman is due back in Manhattan federal court October 2.
Menendez remains defiant amid bribery charges: "I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet"
From CNN's Morgan Rimmer and Clare Foran
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey remained defiant in remarks Monday after being indicted on bribery charges at the end of last week, saying he believes he will be exonerated.
In a statement delivered to reporters, Menendez offered some of his first public defense against some of the evidence discovered by investigators during their search of his home, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, which he argued he had on hand for emergencies and described as an “old-fashioned” habit derived from his family’s experience in Cuba.
“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” said Menendez. “Now this may seem old fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years.”
Menendez, his wife and three co-defendants are accused of coordinating to use Menendez’s power as a US senator to benefit them personally and to benefit Egypt. On Monday, Menendez defended his record as it relates to Egypt.
“If you look at my actions related to Egypt during the period described in this indictment, and throughout my whole career, my record is clear and consistent in holding Egypt accountable for its unjust detention of American citizens and others, its human rights abuses, its deepening relationship with Russia, and efforts that have eroded the independence of the nation’s judiciary, among a myriad of concerns,” he said.
The New Jersey senator, who is up for reelection next year, has denied wrongdoing and pushed back on calls to resign. He accused those who “rushed to judgment” of doing so for “political expediency.”
“I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet,” Menendez said, referencing the legal battle ahead. “But as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator.”
Menendez was acquitted in a previous trial. Here's what you should know
From CNN's Kara Scannell and Katelyn Polantz
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez's federal indictment last week was the second set of corruption charges levied against him by the Justice Department in a decade.
He was also charged by federal prosecutors from the US attorney’s office in New Jersey in 2015 with conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud relating to allegedly abusing the power of his office.
Prosecutors said the senator accepted more than $600,000 in political contributions, a luxurious hotel suite at the Park Hyatt in Paris, and free rides on a private jet from a wealthy ophthalmologist, Dr. Salomon Melgen, in exchange for political favors.
The corruption trial of Menendez ended in a mistrial in November 2017 after the jury reported it was deadlocked. Both men denied all of the charges.
Following the mistrial, a federal judge acquitted them of several of the charges in 2018. The Justice Department dropped the remaining charges against Menendez.
Melgen was convicted on dozens of counts of health care fraud and sentenced to 17 years in a separate case, but his sentence was commuted by then-President Donald Trump in 2021.
After his mistrial was announced in 2017, a defiant Menendez issued a warning at a news conference.
“To those who were digging my political grave so that they could jump into my seat, I know who you are, and I won’t forget you,” he said at the time.
A growing list of Senate Democrats are calling for Menendez to resign
From CNN's Shawna Mizelle and Gregory Krieg
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker on Tuesday called on fellow Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez, his longtime Garden State colleague, to resign in the wake of a federal indictment accusing him of corruption-related offenses.
Booker, who said he found the allegations against Menendez “hard to reconcile with the person I know,” joins a chorus of Senate Democrats, including several facing tough reelection races next year, in pushing for the senator to step down.
But Booker’s decision to break from Menendez will sting the most – a uniquely damaging political blow to a longtime senator with a suddenly thinning list of allies both in Washington and his home state, where local leaders are lining up against Menendez.
The charges against Menendez, who is up for reelection next year, come at a fraught moment for the narrow Senate Democratic majority, which is facing an uphill battle to keep control of the chamber in 2024. Though New Jersey is a reliably blue state on the national level, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy won a second term in 2021 by only 3 points, giving Republicans some reason for optimism – particularly if Menendez is on the ballot while under indictment.
Senate Democratic leadership has taken a wait-and-see approach with Menendez, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer not pressing his colleague to go as of early Tuesday afternoon. Booker’s announcement, though, could open the floodgates for intraparty dissent.
“Senator Menendez is again facing a federal indictment, one that contains shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing,” Booker said in a statement Tuesday, referencing a previous case that Menendez ultimately beat.
Booker broke his silence after similar calls from rank-and-file Senate Democrats, including Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jon Tester of Nevada and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, who are all face competitive reelection races next year.
Read more about how Senate Democrats are reacting.
Menendez and his wife arrive at court
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, arrived at Manhattan federal court Wednesday morning ahead of their scheduled arraignment.
The senator was charged Friday on corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years. He's charged with three alleged crimes, including being on the receiving end of a bribery conspiracy involving payments in gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and a luxury car.
The conspiracy counts also include his wife and three people described as New Jersey associates and businessmen.
Menendez could face up to 20 years in prison on most serious charge he faces
From CNN's Hannah Rabinowitz and Kara Scannell
All five defendants indicted last week could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted on the conspiracy to commit honest services fraud charge — and five years if convicted on the conspiracy to commit bribery charge.
Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, also have been charged with an additional count of conspiracy to commit extortion, which also carries a 20-year maximum prison sentence.
Most defendants do not receive the maximum prison sentence allowed under federal law, and any sentencing is decided by judge presiding over the case.
Here's what you need to know about Sen. Menendez's federal indictment
From CNN's Kara Scannell and Katelyn Polantz
New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was charged last Friday with corruption-related offenses for the second time in 10 years. The senator and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to the unsealed federal indictment.
Prosecutors allege the bribes included gold, cash, home mortgage payments, compensation for a “low-or-no-show job” and a luxury vehicle.
Menendez is charged with three alleged crimes, including being on the receiving end of a bribery conspiracy. The conspiracy counts also charge his wife Nadine, and three people described as New Jersey associates and businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.
The group is accused of coordinating to use Menendez’s power as a US senator to benefit them personally and to benefit Egypt.
In the indictment, prosecutors accuse Menendez of trying to sway the president’s choice of the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey to benefit one of the business associates and to pressure the Department of Agriculture to protect a business monopoly another contact had from Egypt.
The Department of Agriculture in 2019 had contacted Egypt to object to it giving Menendez’s contact, Hana, monopoly rights related to supplying halal meat to the US.
Yet Hana met Menendez in his office along with others, including an Egyptian intelligence official, in May 2019, asking for help fending off the US agency’s opposition. The group went to a Washington, DC, steakhouse for dinner that evening, the indictment said.
Two days later, Menendez allegedly called an Agriculture Department official, asking them to stop opposing Hana’s venture.
This is the second set of corruption charges levied against Menendez by the Justice Department in a decade. He previously fought off conspiracy, bribery and honest services fraud related to alleged personal favors.
Menendez is up for reelection next year. He has been in the Senate since 2006.
