New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez speaking today for the first time since his indictment on federal bribery charges. Jonathan Dienst reports.
What to Know
- NJ Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were indicted by a grand jury on federal bribery charges stemming from their relationship with three businessmen, prosecutors said, including possible dealings with an admitted felon
- Prosecutors were said to be looking into whether a businessman who faced more than a dozen counts of bank fraud gave gold bars and cash worth more than $400,000 to the state's senior senator and his wife
- The issue of whether Menendez improperly accepted gold bars is just one part of the investigation. Officials had been looking into whether Menendez improperly took gifts, including use of a Mercedes and a luxury D.C. apartment, from the owners of a business that later won an exclusive government contract
Three days after Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife were indicted on federal bribery charges, the embattled New Jersey lawmaker made his first remarks to the public, staying defiant as he insisted he will stay in office.
"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 said at his Monday press conference at Hudson County Community College in Union City, the city where his political career began back in the 1980s.
Menendez stated he would be staying in office and will return to Washington, D.C., this week. He didn't explicitly address whether he will be running for re-election in 2024.
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"I understand how deeply concerning this can be, however the allegations leveled against me are just that: allegations," said Menendez. "The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system...to those who have rushed to judgement, you have done so based on a limited set of facts framed by the prosecution to be as salacious as possible. Remember: Prosecutors get it wrong sometimes. Sadly, I know that."
Menendez then touted his record of being hard on Egypt over its detention of Americans and other “human rights abuses," as well as what he has done to bring federal money to his state. He left without taking questions, and did not respond to the gaggle of reporters who shouted questions about the alleged gifts he received.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were indicted by a grand jury on federal bribery charges stemming from their relationship with three businessmen, according to court filings, including possible dealings with an admitted felon and the authoritarian regime of Egypt.
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“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,” he said.
The indictment unsealed Friday by prosecutors with the Southern District of New York revealed corruption allegations as brazen as they are breathtaking. Prosecutors allege Menendez received cash, gold bars, payments towards a home mortgage, compensation for a low or no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other items of value from businessmen.
Federal agents who searched his home in 2022 found more than $480,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe, and gold bars worth more than $100,000, prosecutors said. Another $70,000 was discovered inside his wife’s safety deposit box, they said. Menendez addressed this at his Monday press conference.
"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," the senator said. "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. I look forward to addressing other issues at trial."
The indictment also alleges that Menendez provided sensitive U.S. government information and took other steps to secretly help Egypt, including ghost-writing a letter on behalf of Egypt pushing other senators to lift a hold on $300 million in aid to the country.
Menendez has tapped Abbe Lowell, the same attorney defending Hunter Biden against his tax and firearm charges, to represent him in his federal bribery case, a spokesperson for the prosecutors said. In addition to representing President Joe Biden's son, Lowell has a storied track record with high-profile litigation, including Menendez's past corruption charges.
While it's not immediately clear what the 69-year-old is expected to say, Menendez has adopted the same defiant stance he took when he faced federal accusations nearly a decade ago.
A three-term senator who has held office at every level across the state's rough-and-tumble political landscape, Menendez vowed to fight the latest set of charges and questioned the veracity of the indictment.
In almost the same language he used in 2017 after a mistrial on federal corruption charges, he cast the indictment Friday in political terms and vowed to continue his work in the Senate.
"For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave," Menendez said in a statement. It was an echo from six years earlier, when he addressed "those who were digging my political grave" and told them he would not forget who they were.
Menendez said definitively in a later statement, "I am not going anywhere."
Unlike his first federal corruption trial, though, New Jersey's Democratic establishment support for Menendez has eroded in the days since the charges were announced. Gov. Phil Murphy, the leaders of the Democrat-led Legislature and the state party chairman were among those who have called for his resignation.
"The alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state. Therefore, I am calling for his immediate resignation," Murphy said in a statement.
John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Saturday became the first Democratic U.S. senator to call on Menendez to resign.
"He's entitled to the presumption of innocence, but he cannot continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations," Fetterman said on Saturday. "I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial."
A spokesperson for Fetterman said he will return $5,000 in contributions from a political action committee tied to Menendez "in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills" — a reference to the cash found in the New Jersey lawmaker's home.
On Monday, Ohio's Sherrod Brown became the second Democratic member of the Senate to call on Menendez to resign. Brown, who serves as the chair of the Banking Committee, said Menendez "has broken the public trust and should resign."
Menendez will step down as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during the case. Rules for the Senate Democratic caucus say that any member who is charged with a felony must step aside from a leadership position.
Congressman Andy Kim announced he plans to challenge Menendez to represent the Garden State in the U.S. Senate, saying in a written statement that he "felt compelled to run against him" after hearing the senator's rebuke of the charges.
“This is not something I expected to do, but I believe New Jersey deserves better. We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our country’s integrity. I believe it’s time we restore faith in our democracy, and that’s why I am stepping up and running for Senate," said Kim, a Democrat who was first elected in 2018.
In response to the calls for him to resign, Menendez said that "instead of waiting for all the facts to be presented, others have rushed to judgment because they see a political opportunity for themselves or those around them." He added that some are calling on him to resign because he has "lost the trust of the people of New Jersey. That couldn't be more wrong."
The senator, his wife and their co-defendants are scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday morning.
What are Menendez and his wife accused of?
The senator and his wife Nadine are facing three counts: Conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Three New Jersey businessmen allegedly involved in the bribery transactions have also been charged with the first two counts.
The indictment, the second in eight years against Menendez, alleges an illegal commingling of his obligations to advance U.S. priorities and his private interest in cultivating relationships with wealthy businessmen. Authorities allege the three businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes — showered the couple with money, gold and a luxury car in exchange for official favors.
The indictment comes after Menendez had been under investigation for more than a year, as prosecutors were said to be looking into whether a businessman who faced more than a dozen counts of bank fraud gave hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold bars and gifts to the state's senior senator and his wife.
At the time of the pricey gifts were handed off, according to court documents, Daibes was facing federal bank fraud charges that could have landed him up to a decade in federal prison. The businessman had allegedly lied about a $1.8 million loan from Mariner's Bank where he served as chairman.
Investigators with the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation were looking into whether Menendez offered to contact the Justice Department to try to help Daibes, a New Jersey developer and one-time bank chairman — as well as longtime friend of the senator. Prosecutors said that in exchange for cash payments and gifts, Daibes asked Menendez to interfere with the office of New Jersey U.S. Attorney Phil Selinger. The alleged goal was for federal prosecutors to go easy on Daibes.
U.S. Attorney Selinger was recused from that case.
After Menendez called a government official about Daibes’ case, according to the indictment, his wife was given a Mercedes-Benz convertible by Uribe and Hana, both friends of the senator and his wife. The indictment says that after the purchase was complete, Nadine Menendez texted her husband to say: “Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” with a heart emoji.
The indictment stated that just days after his wife texted Daibes thanking him for "Christmas in January," Menendez did a Google search for "kilo of gold price."
The federal grand jury in Manhattan heard testimony from witnesses before handing up the indictment. The investigation into the senator is believed to have started back in 2019.
The issue of whether Menendez improperly accepted gold bars is just one part of the investigation. Investigators were also probing his connections and possible gifts he received from a halal meat company that later won an exclusive government contract in Egypt.
In April 2020, shortly after meeting with an Egyptian official, authorities allege, Menendez lobbied then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to increase American engagement in stalled negotiations involving Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to build a dam over the Nile River, a key foreign policy issue for Egypt.
As NBC New York first reported, officials had previously been looking into whether Menendez or his now wife improperly took gifts, including use of a Mercedes and a luxury D.C. apartment from the owners of a New Jersey business. That business, IS EG Halal, won an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to perform all Halal meat inspection for the county, even though the firm had no prior experience.
The New Jersey company being named the sole company to certify that imported meat met religious requirements surprised U.S. agriculture officials. Previously, several other companies had been doing that certification, but they were dismissed by Egyptian agriculture officials in favor of IS EG Halal.
Investigators sought to know if Menendez used his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees billions in aid to Egypt, to help that New Jersey firm get the contract in exchange for gifts.
The switch happened the same year that Menendez became engaged to Nadine Arslanian, an acquaintance of the new halal certification company’s owner, Hana, of Edgewater.
Records show Arslanian, 56, was battling foreclosure on her Bergen County property in 2018. When she and Menendez got engaged it began a period of financial turnaround for Arslanian, a former marketer for a medical company.
Within weeks of their engagement, she incorporated a business, Strategic International Business Consultants LLC, according to state records. Her foreclosure case was dismissed soon after. The following year, her assets included gold bars valued between $100,000 to $250,000, according to a Senate disclosure form amended by Menendez in March of 2022.
Between April and June of 2022, the couple cashed out at least part of their precious metal holdings, forms show, selling between $200,000 and $400,000 worth of gold bars, while keeping at least $250,000 worth of them.
The indictment also says Menendez provided sensitive U.S. government information and pressured an official as the USDA for helping businessman Hana and the government of Egypt. The court document states Menendez and his wife made a "promise that Menendez would, among other things, use his power and authority to facilitate such sales and financing to Egypt, Hana promised, among other things, to put Nadine Menendez on the payroll of his company in a low-or-no-show job."
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams claimed that "Menendez and his wife engaged in a corrupt relationship" with the three businessmen, alleging the senator agreed to "use his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the Government of Egypt."
David Schertler, a lawyer for Menendez’s wife, said his client "denies any criminal conduct and will vigorously contest these charges in court.” There was no answer at the couple's Englewood Cliffs home.
Daibes' attorney, Tim Donohue, said his client would be "completely exonerated of all charges."
A spokesperson for Hana said the charges "have absolutely no merit." A spokesperson for IS EG Halal has issued a denial of ever giving the senator any gifts and said they won the Egyptian contact on their merits. As NBC News first reported, federal investigators previously seized the phone devices of Hana.
Menendez's career climb and 2017 charges against him
The son of Cuban immigrants and an attorney by training, he was a Union City school board member at age 20 — before he graduated from law school — and went on to become the mayor of the city, where he still has deep roots.
Menendez's own biography touts the fact that he wanted to fight corruption early in his political career, testifying against Union City officials and building a reputation as tough. From there, he was elected to the state Assembly, then the state Senate before heading to the U.S. House.
Menendez was appointed to be a U.S. senator in 2006 when the seat opened up after incumbent Jon Corzine became governor. He was elected outright in 2006 and again in 2012 and 2018. He served as chair of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee beginning in 2013, but lost that post after the earlier indictment. He regained the position after federal prosecutors did not renew charges in that case, which ended in a mistrial.
The 2018 contest was noteworthy because it came just after the 2017 mistrial and the Republican Party had poured millions into defeating him. He prevailed, breaking a Republican lock on power in Washington at the time, and hasn't hinted at retirement since.
Menendez, whose wife Nadine also was charged in the Friday indictment, married in 2020. The couple began dating in 2018 and got engaged in 2019 after meeting at an IHOP in Union City, a frequent haunt of Menendez's.
He has two children from a previous relationship, daughter Alicia Menendez, a television news anchor and author, and son Rob Menendez, who was elected to Congress last year. In a statement, Rob Menendez stood by his father, saying he believes in his father's "integrity and values."
In Congress, Menendez has been a vocal advocate for overhauling the immigration system, securing abortion rights and supporting key Biden administration policies, like the 2021 Inflation Reduction Act.
The first time Menendez was indicted, authorities said he used his political influence to help a Florida eye doctor who gave him lavish gifts and campaign contributions.
He was accused of pressuring officials to resolve a Medicare billing dispute in favor of his friend Dr. Salomon Melgen, securing visas for the doctor's girlfriends and helping protect a contract the doctor had to provide port-screening equipment to the Dominican Republic. Menendez declared his innocence at the time.
The 2017 trial ended in a hung jury, and in early 2018 the government opted not to retry him after a judge threw out some of the counts in the indictment. After he was cleared of the charges, Menendez resumed his post as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that same year. The Senate Ethics Committee later rebuked Menendez, finding that he had improperly accepted gifts, failed to disclose them and then used his influence to advance Melgen’s personal interests.
Melgen was convicted of health care fraud in 2017, but President Donald Trump commuted his prison sentence.
The Senate Historical Office says Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations. Menendez faces reelection next year in a bid to extend his three-decade career in Washington as Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.
CNBC's Christina Wilkie and Rebecca Picciotto contributed to this report.
