A new indictment has been filed against Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat of New Jersey), who is accused of breaking the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The accusation was brought by federal prosecutors in New York. In the superseding indictment, Menendez is accused of conspiring to work for the government of Egypt without first registering as a foreign agent in order to avoid the registration requirement. Menendez was previously indicted on three charges connected to claims that he used his political influence for personal gain by taking bribes. The charges stem from the allegations that he utilized his political influence for personal profit. Cash, gold, payments for a home mortgage, payments for a luxury vehicle, and other things were included in the alleged bribery.
Menendez is accused of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) between January 2018 and June 2022, when he was serving as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to statements made by the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams. Individuals who transact business on behalf of a foreign nation are required to register with the Department of Justice and submit periodic disclosures under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
In addition to Menendez’s wife, Nadine, and three businessmen named Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes, the initial indictment names a number of additional defendants. In the most recent version of the indictment, they have been accused with participating in a plot to have a public official function as a foreign agent. The indictment makes reference to two meetings that allegedly took place between Bob and Debbie Menendez in order for them to plot how Bob Menendez would carry out his duties as an agent of the Egyptian government.
Menendez is currently free on a bond of $100,000 while his four co-defendants have all entered not guilty pleas to the first allegations against them. It is anticipated that he will submit a new plea in connection with the FARA case.
Senator Menendez has made a statement in which he refutes the allegations, claiming that he has been “loyal to only one country — the United States of America,” and calling the accusations as an attempt to break him down psychologically and emotionally.