Senator Bob Menendez Guilty on All Counts

By Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief On Jul 16, 2024

After two days of deliberations, the jury in the federal corruption trial of Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) found the three-term senator guilty of all 16 charges against him, with Gov. Phil Murphy calling for the senator to “resign immediately,” and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also calling for him to step down.

For now, the verdicts end a two-year saga encompassing a June 2022 FBI raid on Menendez’s Englewood Cliffs home, a September 2023 federal indictment, and a trial that involved nine weeks of testimonies from 34 witnesses.

The 16 indictments found Menendez guilty “on the conspiracy to commit” bribery, honest services wire fraud, extortion, obstruction of justice, and the biggest charge, conspiracy of acting as a foreign agent.

Outside the Manhattan federal courthouse this afternoon, Menendez said he was disappointed by the jury’s decision and predicted he will be successful in the appeals process.

“I have never violated my public oath and have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country,” he said. “I have never been a foreign agent. … The decision by the jury today puts at risk every member of the U.S. Senate in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be.”

Meanwhile, one of the U.S. Attorneys for the Southern District of New York said that Menendez’s “years of selling his office to the highest bidders have come to an end.”

Gov. Phil Murphy issued the following statement: “Today’s verdict finding Senator Bob Menendez guilty on 16 counts demonstrates that the senator broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office. It also shows that in America, everyone – no matter how powerful – is accountable to our laws.”

Menendez is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29, while his attorneys are expected to appeal the verdicts, with a lawyer today saying, “We will pursue all appellate avenues aggressively, and we expect to be vindicated.”

Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were found guilty of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the senator using his power and influence to protect and to enrich three New Jersey businessmen – Fred Daibes, Wael Hana, and Jose Uribe – and to benefit the government of Egypt. The bribes came in the form of cash, gold, home mortgage payments, a Mercedes Benz and a low-show or no-show job for Nadine Menendez.

While Daibes, Hana, Menendez and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges, Uribe pleaded guilty to seven counts and testified against the senator.

Nadine Menendez is to stand trial separately, and yesterday, U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein wrote in a brief ruling that her trial will be indefinitely delayed. The decision could have been made based on Nadine Menendez’s health. This past May, Senator Menendez released a statement saying: “Nadine is suffering from Grade 3 breast cancer, which will require her to have mastectomy surgery. We are of course concerned about the seriousness and advanced stage of the disease.”

During the June 2022 search of Menendez’s home, FBI agents found approximately $500,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes and closets, in addition to $70,000 in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box.

“Some of the cash was stuffed in the senator’s jacket pockets, and some of the envelopes contained Daibes’ fingerprints and DNA,” said Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, at the Sept. 22 indictment announcement.

Menendez said that keeping large sums of cash in his house stems from his family’s distrust of Cuban banks, saying days after the indictment, “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.”

This is not the first time Menendez has faced criminal charges. In 2015, he was indicted for allegedly illegally accepting favors from a Florida eye doctor, including more than $700,000 in political contributions, flights on a private jet, and three nights in a Paris five-star hotel. The trial, which took place in 2017, ended with a hung jury and federal prosecutors deciding not to retry the senator. However, a Senate Ethics Committee “severely admonished” Menendez. A year later, Menendez was reelected to the Senate to serve his third term.

He may still run as an independent candidate for his Senate seat in the upcoming November election. Meanwhile, his Senate colleagues could decide to oust him with a two-thirds majority vote.

Gov. Murphy, in his statement, commented: “I reiterate my call for Senator Menendez to resign immediately after being found guilty of endangering national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system. If he refuses to vacate his office, I call on the U.S. Senate to vote to expel him. In the event of a vacancy, I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve.”

For Menendez, today’s verdict most likely will end a political career that spanned 50 years.

Born in New York City and raised in Union City, the son of Cuban immigrants experienced his first taste of politics while serving on the Union City Board of Education from 1974 to 1978. From 1978 to 1982, he was the board’s chief financial officer. During this period, he graduated from St. Peter’s College in 1976, and graduated from Rutgers Law School in 1979.

Menendez ran for and was elected mayor of Union City in 1986, serving until 1992. During this time, he served in the General Assembly and State Senate. Upon the retirement of Congressman Frank Guarini in 1992, Menendez won the 13th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

In 2003, Menendez was elected chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He was also elected chair of the Credentials Committee of the 2004 Democratic National Convention. During the 107th Congress, he was chair of the Democratic Task Force on Education and the Democratic Task Force on Homeland Security. He was also a member of the House International Relations Committee.

He was sworn into the U.S. Senate on Jan. 18, 2006, taking over for – and being appointed by – Jon Corzine, who vacated his Senate seat to become New Jersey Governor. That following November, Menendez won a full term in the U.S. Senate, running against State Senator Tom Kean, Jr.

Following the 2008 elections, Menendez was appointed head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, where he served from 2009 to 2011.

In November 2012, he was re-elected to a second term in the Senate, beating Republican candidate State Senator Joe Kyrillos.

Menendez served as chair of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a post he stepped down from upon being indicted. He still serves on the committee and additionally serves on the Senate Banking and Finance committees and many of their related subcommittees.

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