BREAKING: Sen. Bob Menendez Indicted on Bribery Charges in New York

AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York announced the indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on charges of bribery “in connection with three New Jersey businessmen.” His wife, Nadine Menendez, is also going to be indicted on the same charges.

The New York Times reports that the federal corruption charge alleges that Menendez entered into a scheme with his wife and three others. Also indicted are New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes; Wael Hana, founder of a New Jersey halal meat inspection business and a friend of Mrs. Menendez; and New Jersey businessman Jose Uribe.

Menendez has been under federal investigation for his ties to Daibes, who gifted Menendez and his wife with $400,000 worth of gold bars, allegedly in exchange for help with federal bank fraud charges. That “help” allegedly included Menendez reaching out to the U.S. Justice Department in connection to the case. The senator disclosed the gift in 2020, but only after the federal investigation began.

Damian Williams, U.S. Attorney for the SDNY, and James Smith, assistant director for the FBI field office in New York, will hold a press conference at 11:00 a.m. ET to provide more information about the indictments.

This story is breaking and has been updated.