MANHATTAN (CN) — Democrat New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and his wife both pleaded not guilty on Monday to a new criminal indictment in New York federal court, accusing them of obstructing justice while they were under investigation for accepting cash and luxury gifts from New Jersey businessmen in exchange for leveraging the senator's political influence.
“Once again, not guilty, your honor," Menendez pleaded quickly Monday morning, waiving a reading of his latest superseding indictment.
The 70-year-old senator and his wife Nadine Menendez face a criminal trial in May on accusations that they accepted bribes, including gold bars and a new car, for covertly aiding Egypt’s authoritarian government and attempting to foil a friend’s criminal prosecution.
The latest superseding indictment was filed just days after one of the former co-defendants in this case, businessman Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty to bribing Menendez with a Mercedes-Benz convertible. Uribe admitted in the March 1 plea that he lied to federal prosecutors when he told them that the payments he made toward that car were actually for loans.
Those car payments appeared to be referenced in the new set of charges unsealed last week.
According to the indictment, the senator wrote his wife Nadine Menendez a check in 2022 for $23,000 with the memo line “for car payment.”
But when Nadine Menendez exchanged that same money with Uribe and another defendant, those checks were labeled as loan repayments.
Uribe agreed to cooperate with federal authorities when he pleaded guilty.
The remaining co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, also pleaded not guilty to the new set of charges on Monday.
Prosecutors claim Senator Menendez took bribes from Egyptian and Qatari officials to influence U.S. foreign policy. In one instance, Menendez told his wife he was going to “sign off” on a $99 million sale to the Egyptian military and she passed along the information to Egyptian government officials, according to court documents.
A previous superseding indictment unsealed in January accused of Menendez wielding his influence and power as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in connection with member of the Qatari royal family for the benefit of Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer, in exchange for items of value received by him and Nadine, including luxury wristwatches, Formula 1 Grand Prix race tickets, cash and gold bars.
U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein said the May 6 trial date “still stands" while acknowledging the possibility that a stay could be ordered later by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals on an anticipated interlocutory appeal.
Last week Stein, a Clinton appointee, denied a batch of motions by Menendez and his co-defendants to suppress evidence on grounds of constitutional search warrants.
A poll released last week found 74% of New Jersey residents disapprove of Menendez’s performance in office, compared to 38% the last time he faced federal corruption charges.
Since the September indictment, Menendez has bucked calls to resign despite members of his own party, including fellow Democrat New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, advising him to step aside.
Over the weekend, media outlets reported unattributed sources said the embattled senator would not be running for reelection in November 2024.
"Well, I wouldn't be announcing it in a courtroom,” Menendez joked to reporters outside the courtroom on Monday when asked about the rumors.
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