US senator Robert Menendez found guilty of bribery

Veteran politician convicted of meddling in criminal investigations and working as foreign agent

Robert Menendez arrives for his federal bribery case at a Manhattan federal court. Getty Images / AFP

Robert Menendez, a US senator, was on Tuesday found guilty of receiving bribes, including gold and cash, to use his influence to help three businessmen and a foreign government.

The Democrat was convicted by a New York jury of all 16 counts in the federal corruption trial, which included charges of acting as a foreign agent for Egypt to advance American military support.

Prosecutors after the verdict said “a shocking level of corruption” that Menendez conducted, including meddling in criminal investigations to protect his associates and helping one deal with US agriculture regulators.

The verdict against one of the most influential politicians in Washington has resulted in his apparent demise.

Senate majority leader and fellow Democrat, Chuck Schumer, has called for Menedez to resign.

“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” he said in a post on X.

Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, said that the Senate should act if Menendez does resign.

“If he refuses to vacate his office, I call on the US Senate to vote to expel him,” Mr Murphy said.

The Senate ethics committee said its misconduct in vestigation into Menendez will be completed "promptly".

"The committee will consider the full range of disciplinary actions available," it said in a statement.

Menendez continued to insist on his innocence outside the courthouse after the verdict, about which he said he was "deeply, deeply disappointed".

He said he believed his legal team will be "successful upon appeal".

US District Judge Sidney Stein set Menendez's sentencing for October 29, a week before the November 5 election in which he is running as an independent for another six-year term in the Senate.

Of the 16 counts on which he was convicted, the most serious carry a potential prison sentence of 20 years.

Menendez and the two New Jersey businessmen on trial with him – Wael Hana and Fred Daibes – pleaded not guilty. The two businessmen were also convicted of the charges they faced.

Another businessman pleaded guilty before trial and testified against Menendez and the other defendants.

Menendez's wife, Nadine, was also charged in the case, although her trial has been postponed while she recovers from breast cancer surgery.

The charges against the couple were issued by the Department of Justice in September.

In a 2022 raid on the Menendez home, FBI agents confiscated gold bars worth nearly $150,000 and more than $480,000 in cash, some of it stuffed into boots and jackets emblazoned with the senator's name.

Prosecutors told of instances where they said Menendez helped the businessmen, saying his efforts to fast-track the delivery of $99 million in helicopter ammunition to Egypt, along with close communications with senior Egyptian officials, showed he was serving Cairo's interests.

He was also said to have worked with Qatar.

Lawyers for Menendez said he never accepted bribes and that actions he took to benefit the businessmen were the kinds of tasks expected of a public official.

They said he was simply carrying out responsibilities expected in his role as chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, which he was forced to relinquish after charges were filed.

Menendez survived politically after another federal trial – on charges that he used his office to help a friend defraud Medicare – in 2017. It ended with a deadlocked jury.

He announced several weeks ago that he plans to run for re-election this year as an independent.