New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez Found Guilty in Federal Corruption Trial as He Weighs Reelection Bid

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted of 16 federal charges on Tuesday, July 16, following an eight-week corruption trial that centered around his level of involvement with Egypt's government.

A New York City jury delivered the guilty verdict on their third day of deliberations. The decision came one month after the high-ranking Democratic senator, 70, filed papers to run for reelection as an independent candidate.

Menendez was indicted in September, alongside his wife Nadine, following an investigation into his business dealings with three businessmen connected to Egypt's government.

The senator was initially charged with three counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

Court filings claimed that a search warrant of the Menendez home and safe deposit box executed in June 2022 turned up "cash, gold, a luxury vehicle, and home furn -

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ishings" allegedly used to bribe the senator and his wife.

The senator was also accused of trying to "disrupt a criminal investigation and prosecution" of one of the Egyptian businessmen by recommending that PresidentJoe Bidennominate an individual for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey whom the senator privately "believed could be influenced."

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Between September and March, prosecutors tacked 13 additional counts onto Menendez's indictment, one of which accused the former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair of acting as a foreign agent for Egypt's government. He was also charged with multiple counts of obstructing justice.

Menendez was tried separately from his wife, who got permission to delay her trial while she undergoes treatment for grade 3 breast cancer.

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