Senator Bob Menendez pleads not guilty to bribery charges

Bob Menendez and wife Nadine Arslanian appear in a New York federal court on allegations involving the Egyptian government.

Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian arrive at Manhattan courthouse on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

NUS senator Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty overnight on Wednesday to corruption charges in a New York federal court, where he and his wife appeared on bribery and ­extortion allegations involving the Egyptian government.

Senator Menendez and wife Nadine Arslanian were greeted outside the Manhattan courthouse by at least one protester holding up a sign demanding in block letters that the 69-year-old from New Jersey “RESIGN”.

So far, he has defied calls from his own Democratic Party colleagues to leave office, though he “temporarily” stepped down as head of the Senate foreign relations committee after the charges were unsealed on Friday.

Prosecutors say the senator provided sensitive information to the Egyptian government in order to help an Egyptian-American businessman to protect his ­monopoly.

According to US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams, Senator Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2018 and 2022 from three New Jersey residents in exchange for using “his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.”

The indictment alleges the bribes came via cash, gold bars and even a Mercedes Benz convertible, all of which were found during a search of the senator’s home.

Senator Menendez, who has been a Democrat congressional stalwart for three decades, rebutted the claims at a press conference on Monday. “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,” he said.

“I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation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 Senator Menendez, whose parents were immigrants.

He also pointed to his record regarding US relations with Egypt, saying he had “challenged President (Abdel Fattah) el-Sisi directly on human rights abuses, arbitrary detention (and) freedoms.”

Senator Menendez, who is up for re-election in 2024, was the subject of a 2015 corruption case, which ended in a mistrial.

AFP