Federal prosecutors have amended their indictment against U.S. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, now charging them with conspiring to have him act as an agent of Egypt and Egyptian officials. The superseding indictment, filed in Manhattan federal court, accuses Menendez of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which mandates that individuals register with the U.S. government if they act as “an agent of a foreign principal.” As a member of Congress, Menendez was prohibited from representing a foreign government, even if he had registered as one.
The indictment states that the conspiracy spanned from January 2018 to June 2022. It alleges that in May 2019, Menendez, his wife, and a business associate named Wael Hana met with an Egyptian intelligence official in Menendez’s Senate office in Washington. During the meeting, they discussed an American citizen seriously injured in a 2015 airstrike by the Egyptian military, which used a U.S.-made Apache helicopter. The indictment suggests that certain lawmakers objected to providing certain military aid to Egypt due to this incident and the perception that the Egyptian government had not fairly compensated the injured American citizen.
Following the Washington meeting, the Egyptian official sent a text message to Hana, stating that if Menendez could help resolve the matter, “he will sit very comfortably.” Hana responded with “Orders, consider it done,” according to the indictment.
This new charge comes shortly after Menendez and his wife were accused of accepting bribes, including cash, gold bars, and a luxury car, from New Jersey businessmen who sought the senator’s influence over foreign affairs. The couple has pleaded not guilty.
In both the previous and new indictments, prosecutors claim that Menendez, after meeting with an Egyptian official, lobbied then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to increase American engagement in negotiations involving Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan regarding a dam over the Nile River, a critical foreign policy issue for Egypt.
Menendez, who was the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been accused of secretly aiding Egyptian officials by ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators urging them to release $300 million in aid to Egypt. He has also been accused of sharing information about U.S. Embassy employees in Egypt and transmitting nonpublic information to Egyptian officials about military aid.
Also Read: Transwoman Dylan Mulvaney wins Woman of the Year award upsetting netizens | Watch reactions
Menendez, 69, has maintained that he performed typical duties for a senator engaged in foreign affairs and that prosecutors misunderstood his work. He has not confirmed whether he will run for reelection next year, and the new charge comes as more than 30 Senate Democrats, including Senator Cory Booker from his home state of New Jersey, have called on him to resign. Menendez, however, has expressed his intent to remain in the Senate.
