A federal jury in Manhattan on Tuesday found Sen. Robert Menendez guilty of using his political influence as a powerful member of Congress to benefit New Jersey businessmen as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, including gold bars.
Menendez, a powerful Democrat from New Jersey who chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was convicted on all 16 counts, including bribery, obstruction of justice, acting as a foreign agent and honest services wire fraud.
“This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption—hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, a Mercedes Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual. This was politics for profit," U.S. Attorney Damien Williams said outside the courthouse. "Now that a jury has convicted Bob Menendez, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”
Immediately after the verdict was announced, the top Democrat in Senate, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, called on Menendez to step aside: “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 statement.
Menendez stepped down as head of the foreign relations panel after his indictment, but stayed in the U.S. Senate and is still running for reelection in November — as an independent.
Menendez was tried alongside two businessmen accused of bribing him: Egyptian-American Wael Hana and real estate developer Fred Daibes. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against the trio.
Hana and Daibes were also found guilty on all the counts they were facing.
Menendez's wife, Nadine, was also charged in the case. She had been scheduled to face trial separately this summer after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but on Tuesday the judge delayed her trial indefinitely. No reason was given.
Prosecutors accuse her of acting as a go-between with the businessmen in order to shield her husband.
The two-month trial was marked by colorful testimony and exhibits. At one point, jurors were able to hold a gold bar that the government says was found in a search of Menendez's house. Prosecutors argued Menendez put his greed above service to the country and his constituents, while the senator's lawyers rejected the charges and said the government lacked evidence of direct bribery.
Menendez did not testify on his own behalf.
This is the second federal criminal trial for Menendez. He was indicted in 2015 on unrelated federal corruption and bribery charges. A jury in that case could not reach a unanimous verdict and the judge declared a mistrial.
Transcript
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has been convicted on all charges related to a sweeping conspiracy. The Democrat was found guilty of helping the government of Egypt and doing other favors in exchange for cash, gold and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen. The jury deliberated for less than two full days after a nine-week trial in federal court in New York. And for more, we're joined now by Nancy Solomon of member station WNYC. Hi, Nancy.
NANCY SOLOMON, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: So can you just first remind us? What were the crimes that Senator Menendez was found guilty of committing here?
SOLOMON: Right. It was an 18-count indictment that alleges a somewhat complicated scheme that goes something like this. Menendez starts dating his soon-to-be wife, Nadine, in 2018. She introduces him to Wael Hana, an Egyptian-born businessman. Hana introduces the senator to military and intelligence officials from Egypt. Their weapon sales from the U.S. are being held up over human rights concerns. And Menendez is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and he helps them get the weapon sales back on track. Egypt gives Hana a monopoly on certification of halal meat exports to Egypt, and some of the money earned by that business goes to the Menendezes.
CHANG: Wow. What a chain of events there. OK. Well, Bob Menendez - I mean, he came under pressure to resign right after the indictment was announced last September, and he, of course, did not resign. But that drumbeat for him to resign is already starting back up. What are you hearing so far?
SOLOMON: Charles Schumer, leader of the Senate Democrats, called on Menendez to resign, and leaders of the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee said they would take up an investigation into him, quote, "promptly." That could lead to censuring or expelling him. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has called for his resignation. He did that last September, but he renewed that call today and also said that, if Menendez doesn't resign, the Senate should expel him. Menendez and his lawyers spoke to reporters outside the courtroom, and he remained defiant. He says he will appeal, that he is a patriot and not a foreign agent, and that the verdict today imperils all senators from trying - who are just trying to do their jobs.
CHANG: OK. Well, if Menendez is expelled or decides eventually to resign, just remind us - how will his seat get filled?
SOLOMON: Right. So the governor of New Jersey would then appoint someone to fill the seat until next January. Since he's a Democrat, he would likely appoint another Democrat, which keeps the numbers the same in the Senate. That seat is already on the ballot this November, and Congressman Andy Kim, a Democrat, is likely to win. But Kim might not be the governor's first choice. That's because the governor's wife, first lady Tammy Murphy, ran for the seat in the primary this year. She ended up dropping out of the race largely due to the pushback that she received about nepotism. So everyone would be watching to see how the governor handles this appointment and whether he goes with Andy Kim. And the governor never did endorse Kim in the primary.
CHANG: Right. OK. Well, the thing is, Nancy, I mean, there have long been accusations against Menendez, right? This is not his first bribery trial. Can you just catch us up on all the controversy that's surrounded him for years?
SOLOMON: Right. So Menendez was tried for bribery in 2017 in a case that involved lavish gifts, again, to a Florida eye doctor and calls the senator made on behalf of the doctor to Medicare. That was a weaker case, and it ended in a hung jury. Menendez has said that federal prosecutors have been after him for years because he is Latino. This is really a - it's a sad end. I think it's fair to say it's the end to his career. He got his start in politics in Union City, N.J., a town on the Hudson River with a large Cuban community. He wore a bulletproof vest to court to testify against the corrupt party boss there, and now he becomes the first sitting senator convicted of bribery in more than 40 years.
CHANG: What a saga. That is WNYC's Nancy Solomon. Thank you so much, Nancy.
SOLOMON: Thanks, Ailsa.
(SOUNDBITE OF OF MINUTEMEN'S "COHESION") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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