NJ Sen. Menendez charged with being a foreign agent in new federal superseding indictment

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez is facing new charges that he illegally acted as a foreign agent of the Egyptian government — an allegation that builds on corruption charges filed weeks ago by the U.S. attorney's office in New York.

Prosecutors allege Menendez "provided sensitive U.S. government information and took other steps that secretly aided the government of Egypt" in a superseding indictment filed on Thursday.

The allegations expand on those presented by prosecutors last month in the original indictment, which allege that real estate developer Fred Daibes; Wael Hana, who owns a halal meat certification business in New Jersey; and businessman Jose Uribe collectively provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Menendez.

In exchange, Menendez is accused of “acts and breaches of duty to benefit the government of Egypt, Hana and others, including with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing” as well as of trying to interfere in criminal cases in New Jersey. Menendez was accused of helping Hana secure a monopoly on halal exports from America to Egypt, which prosecutors say helped fund the bribes.

Foreign agents are required to register with the U.S. government and members of Congress are forbidden from acting in that capacity. Violations carry up to five years in jail and $250,000 in fines. The new indictment says Menendez knew about that responsibility, citing what appears to be his push for an investigation into whether former Rep. David Rivera, a Republican, should have registered as a Venezuelan agent after allegations he’d worked on behalf of Venezuelan state-owned oil company to improve relations with the U.S.

“When foreign agents fail to register under FARA, their activities on behalf of foreign powers are hidden from public view, obscuring potential threats to U.S. national security,” Menendez wrote in 2020, before sending the Department of Justice a new request in 2022 to pursue an investigation.

Menendez has resisted numerous calls to resign following the original indictment. He stepped down from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee the day the original indictment was unsealed.

In the new superseding indictment, prosecutors describe a 2019 meeting between Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, Hana and an unnamed Egyptian intelligence official at the senator’s Washington D.C. Office, to discuss a claim about an American injured during a 2015 Egyptian airstrike. Members of Congress had objected to issuing certain foreign aid to Egypt, unsatisfied it had fairly compensated the American, the indictment says.

Shortly afterward, the Egyptian official texted Hana in Arabic using an encrypted messaging application to say that if Menendez helps resolve the matter “he will sit very comfortably,” the indictment alleges. It says Hana replied: “orders, consider it done.”

In a separate matter in March 2020 that is also described in the original indictment, prosecutors say Nadine Menendez arranged a meeting between her husband and the Egyptian official, whom she called “the general,” after texting the official: “Anytime you need anything you have my number and we will make everything happen.” It says Egypt was seeking help regarding negotiations with Ethiopia and Sudan over a dam on the Nile River being built by Ethiopia, and that within a month, Bob Menendez wrote to the secretaries of State and Treasury for help moving the negotiations alone.

Menendez, his wife and the two businessmen pleaded not guilty to charges from the original indictment late last month. At a defiant press appearance, Menendez said the cash prosecutors found in his home was from his personal savings, not from bribes.

In a statement, Menendez again took a defiant tone saying that he has only been loyal to one country — the U.S.

“Piling new charge upon new charge does not make the allegations true," Menendez said. "The facts haven’t changed, only a new charge. It is an attempt to wear someone down and I will not succumb to this tactic.”

The recent indictments mark the second time he’s been formally accused of bribery. He was charged in 2015 with trading political favors for donations from a wealthy West Palm Beach eye doctor and other perks, but the trial ended in a hung jury.

While Menendez has resisted calls to step down, he hasn’t yet said if he’ll run again in 2024. Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat who serves a district in South and Central New Jersey, has announced a senate run for 2024. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy acknowledged on Wednesday night’s installment of the “Ask Governor Murphy” call-in show that First Lady Tammy Murphy has had discussions about running.

Should Menedez eventually resign, it would fall to Murphy to appoint a replacement until the end of his term.

David Giambusso contributed reporting.

Correction: An editing error in a previous version of this story incorrectly identified to which country members of Congress had objected to issuing certain foreign aid. It was Egypt.