Democratic Sen. Menendez charged with conspiracy to act as a foreign agent: indictment

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was charged with conspiracy to act as a foreign agent on behalf of the Egyptian government.

His wife, Nadine Menendez, as well as Egyptian-American businessman Wael Hana, were also charged with conspiracy to act as a foreign agent, according to a superseding indictment filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Read it in full here:

The latest indictment follows the not-guilty pleas that Bob and Nadine Menendez entered last month to charges that included bribery and exportation. Hana also pleaded not guilty last month, as did two other businessmen charged in the scandal – Fred Daibe and Jose Uribe.

Under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, foreign government actors need to register with the U.S. Justice Department. Public officials, including members of Congress, are prohibited under U.S. law from acting as a foreign agent in a manner that would require them to register as one under the act. Menendez did not register under FARA, nor did his wife or Hana, according to the court document.

The latest charge comes after the New Jersey Democrat and his wife were accused of accepting cash, gold and a luxury car as bribes. The car, a Mercedes, replaced Nadine Menendez's other Mercedes, which was destroyed when she hit and killed someone with it in 2018. She was later found "not at fault," according to a police report from the incident.

Menendez stepped down from his position as Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman but has remained in office amid multiple calls to resign.

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