On Monday, Senator Bob Menendez answers in court to new charges of conspiracy to serve as an unregistered foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
Federal prosecutors on October 12 accused the New Jersey Democrat, who until recently chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of acting on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials between 2018 and 2022.
The senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were previously accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for using their influence to benefit the Egyptian government and interfere with police investigations. about businessmen. .
All defendants declared their innocence on September 27. Nadine Menéndez businessman Wael Hana refused on October 18 to admit that they were acting as foreign agents.
Under the Foreign Agents Registration Law, individuals must register with the Ministry of Justice if they are acting as an “agent of a foreign government.”
Prosecutors say Hana arranged a meeting for the senator with Egyptian officials who pressured him to facilitate a military aid deal. In exchange, the businessman fictitiously employed Nadine Menéndez in a company controlled by him and paid her a salary, prosecutors say.
The new indictment alleges that both Hana and Nadine Menendez relayed requests and instructions from Egyptian officials to the senator.
