Influential Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez was found guilty by a jury Tuesday in his corruption trial that began two months ago, federal prosecutors in New York said.
The 70-year-old veteran of American politics was found guilty of conspiracy to commit acts of corruption, conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, and obstruction of justice, the prosecution said.
“Bob” Menendez was on trial for using his influence to benefit business leaders in Egypt and Qatar.
The two business leaders who appeared with him were also found guilty.
The senator’s wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, who the senator’s lawyers have tried to pin the blame on, is also being prosecuted, but must be tried separately because she needs treatment for breast cancer.
Bob Menendez is an influential senator, former chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, from which he resigned over the affair, “a classic case of corruption on a grand scale,” according to the prosecution.
Between 2018 and 2023, “he put his power up for sale,” added one of Manhattan’s federal prosecutors, Paul Monteleoni, during his indictment.
The prosecutor had described in detail the discoveries made by investigators during a search of the couple’s home in June 2022: $480,000 in cash in envelopes hidden in cupboards, clothes or a safe, to which was added $70,000 found in a safe belonging to Nadine Menendez, and 13 gold bars.
