New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez appears in court to be arraigned on new charges
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Senator Robert Menendez arrived at a Manhattan courthouse Monday to be arraigned on new charges, alleging he accepted bribes from the Egyptian government and conspired to act as a foreign agent while serving as a member of Congress.
Menendez's co-defendants, including his wife, Nadine Menendez, and businessman Wael Hana, were also included in the new charges.
According to NBC News, Menendez pleaded not guilty, just like his co-defendents did last week.
Menendez was excused from the Manhattan Federal Court proceeding until Monday due to Senate business.
New charges from 2018 to 2022
Menendez allegedly provided sensitive U.S. government information and took other steps that "secretly aided the government of Egypt," according to a superseding indictment filed this month by a federal grand jury in Manhattan. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Federal prosecutors also alleged in the indictment that the senator's wife and Hana worked to introduce Egyptian intelligence and military officials to Menendez for the purpose of "establishing and solidifying a corrupt agreement."
The new charge alleges that from 2018 to 2022, Hana, Menendez and his wife "conspired, confederated and agreed together and with each other to have a public official," like Menendez, "act as an agent of a foreign principal."
Politicians, including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have called for Menendez to resign amid the alleged charges, but Menendez has refused to resign.
