Bob Menendez pleads not guilty to bribery charges as resignation calls intensify

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges in Manhattan on Wednesday as he faces calls from Democrats in Congress to resign.

Menendez, 69, is accused of using his political status to aid the government of Egypt and three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars, bars of gold bullion, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible.

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Nadine Menendez, 56, who has been married to the senator for three years, was also arraigned and pleaded not guilty to participating in the yearslong bribery scheme.

A businessman charged in the scheme, Wael Hana, is a U.S. citizen born in Egypt. He voluntarily flew to the United States from Egypt to face federal charges in Manhattan and was arrested Tuesday morning at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Hana pleaded not guilty hours after his arrest, surrendered his passport, and was granted release on a $5 million personal recognizance bond.

New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes, who is charged with bribing the senator, arrived at the courthouse before 9 a.m. and later pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

Another co-defendant, 56-year-old Jose Uribe, was introduced to Bob Menendez by Hana and allegedly asked him to intervene in the state attorney general’s prosecution of one of his colleagues for insurance fraud, according to the indictment. He also pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors said Bob Menendez passed along sensitive U.S. government information that would “secretly aid” a corrupt regime in Egypt. He’s accused of receiving and stashing $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes and clothing, and more than $100,000 worth of gold bars.

Bob Menendez has stepped down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, though he refuses to resign despite nearly two dozen Democrats, including fellow Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who said this week that Bob Menendez’s decision to remain a lawmaker “is a mistake.”

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who holds the second highest position in Democratic leadership in the Senate, became the 28th Democratic senator to call on him to resign on Wednesday.

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In 2015, Bob Menendez was also indicted on federal corruption charges for accepting gifts and trips from a donor, but those charges were dropped in 2018 after a jury failed to reach a verdict.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, the Southern District of New York’s top prosecutor, said last week, “This investigation is very much ongoing. We are not done.”