NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday of all the counts he faced at his corruption trial, including accepting bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
The jury’s verdict followed a nine-week trial in which prosecutors said the Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.
As the verdict was read in court, Menendez, 70, looked toward the jury at times as he appeared to mark a document in front of him. Afterward, he sat resting his chin against his closed hands, elbows on the table. He and his lawyers vowed to appeal as they left the courthouse.
“I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent,” Menendez said.
Menendez did not testify at the trial, but insisted publicly he was only doing his job as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said the gold bars found in his New Jersey home by the FBI belonged to his wife, Nadine Menendez. She too was charged but her trial was postponed so she could recover from breast cancer surgery. She has pleaded not guilty.
“This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption, hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, a Mercedes Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual, this was politics for profit. And now that a jury has convicted Bob Menendez, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams outside the courthouse in Manhattan.
The verdict comes four months before Election Day and potentially dooms Menendez’s chances of campaigning for reelection as an independent candidate.
Immediately after the verdict, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in statement called on Menendez to resign.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer said.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also called on Menendez to resign immediately, writing that the verdict shows the senator "broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office."
Sen. Cory Booker, who has described Menendez as a friend, also called for his resignation, saying it's a "dark, painful day for the people of New Jersey."
The trial was the second time that Menendez has faced corruption allegations. An earlier prosecution on unrelated charges in 2017 ended with a deadlocked jury.
His codefendants, two New Jersey businessmen, were convicted of the charges they faced as well. All three pleaded not guilty. Another businessman pleaded guilty before trial and testified against Menendez and the other defendants.
Menendez faces the possibility of a lengthy prison term when he is sentenced on Oct. 29. Of the 16 counts on which he was convicted, the most serious carry a potential prison sentence of 20 years.
1010 WINS contributed to this report.