Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) will step aside from his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee after his indictment on bribery charges, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Friday.
“Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey. He has a right to due process and a fair trial,” Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement. “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to step down temporarily from his position as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee until the matter has been resolved.”
The 69-year-old Menendez came out swinging hours earlier in his first statement since the indictment was unsealed by Manhattan federal prosecutors, accusing his opponents of conspiring to “dig my political grave.”
“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” said Menendez, who has repped the Garden State in the Senate since 2006.
“Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists.”
Federal prosecutors have charged Menendez and his wife Nadine with three conspiracy counts in connection with what they call a “corrupt bribery agreement” that benefited the couple, three New Jersey businessmen and the government of Egypt.
The Democrat allegedly accepted a Mercedes Benz C-Class sedan, 13 gold bars and $566,000 in cash, which FBI agents found “stuffed in envelopes” after a June 2022 search of his home.
“The excesses of these prosecutors is apparent. They have misrepresented the normal work of a congressional office,” Menendez said in his statement. “They wrote these charges as they wanted; the facts are not as presented.”
He also said the prosecutors from the Southern District of New York in their indictment had “attacked” his wife, Nadine Menendez, “for the longstanding friendships she had before she and I even met.”
Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) defended his father in a Friday statement and called the indictment a “distraction.”
“I have unwavering confidence in my father and his dedication to the New Jerseyans who he has relentlessly fought for in his long career as a public servant,” he said.
Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips became the first Democratic member of Congress to comment on the indictment, telling CNN he was “appalled” at the news and calling on Menendez to resign.
“A member of Congress who appears to have broken the law is someone who I believe should resign,” Phillips said. “And yes, I’m a Democrat, so is Sen. Menendez, but based on what I have seen, I’m disappointed, and yes, I think he should resign.”
Phillips further urged Senate leadership to remove Menendez if he did not go voluntarily.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder also called on Menendez to resign, saying: “The nation will be better served if he steps aside and allows a transition to occur that will best serve the people of New Jersey.”
The White House declined to comment on the indictment, with press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre calling the case “an active matter.”
Prosecutors say the Menendezes also received mortgage payments, a recliner, exercise machines and other items in exchange for shielding businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, who are co-defendants.
Some of the payments were allegedly laundered through a consulting firm set up by Nadine Menendez, who was given a do-nothing job at Hana’s halal meat certification business to avoid suspicion.
Bob Menendez also allegedly attempted to intervene in a criminal case against Daibes by recommending President Biden pick current New Jersey US Attorney Philip Sellinger, who the senator believed would prosecute the case with a light touch.
In the end, Daibes received probation after pleading guilty to entering false loan information.
“Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a US Senator and serve with honor and distinction,” Menendez said. “Even worse, they see me as an obstacle in the way of their broader political goals.”
If convicted on all charges, the Democratic senator faces up to 45 years in prison.
Menendez dodged a previous federal corruption indictment in 2017, when a jury deadlocked on charges that he accepted more than $100,000 worth of flights, lodging and car services from a Florida eye surgeon. On that occasion, Menendez stepped down from the Foreign Relations Committee, where he was the ranking member, for almost three full years.
“I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent,” Menendez also said in his statement.
According to the indictment, the Democrat also provided “substantial military aid to Egypt” between 2018 and 2022, handing over sensitive information and signing off on annual grants of over $1 billion in foreign military aid.
The exchange drew heavily on Menendez’s “power and influence” as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during that time, US Attorney Damian Williams said.
“I have worked every day to repay their trust by fighting to create jobs, strengthen public safety, update infrastructure, and reduce costs for New Jersey families. I have also stood steadfast against dictators around the globe — whether they be in Iran, Cuba, Turkey, or elsewhere — fighting against the forces of appeasement and standing with those who stand for freedom and democracy,” Menendez’s statement reads.
Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not respond to requests for comment.
Menendez, his wife, Uribe, Daibes and Hana are expected to appear in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday for their initial hearing, according to a spokesman for the US Attorney’s Office.