JUST IN: Senate Democrat Menendez Charged With Acting as a Foreign Agent in New Federal Indictment
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File
Less than one month after being indicted on charges of bribery, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) was hit with additional charges of acting as a foreign agent, according to a superseding indictment filed on Thursday.
Federal prosecutors, in the new indictment, alleged that Menendez “provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt”:
[Menendez] further promised to take and took a series of acts on behalf of Egypt, including on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials, and conspired to do so with [Will Hana] and [Menendez’s wife Nadine Menendez], the defendants, who also communicated requests and directives from Egyptian officials to MENENDEZ.
The indictment also alleges that Menendez, who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before he was forced to step down following September’s indictment, violated a rule imposed on members of Congress that prevents them from acting on behalf of a foreign country.
But in the meantime, the indictment says, Menendez allegedly made “multiple requests” to the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate another member of Congress (who is not named) for failing to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
In one letter to the DOJ, Menendez stated: “The Act is clear that acting directly or indirectly in any capacity on behalf of a foreign principal triggers the requirement to register under FARA.” In a second letter, he said “If [the Former Member of Congress] carried out work that requires registration under FARA, it is imperative that the Justice Department ensure he is held to account.”
Prosecutors outlined in their indictment that neither Menendez nor his wife, nor Hana (who is Egyptian-American) followed the rules Menendez wanted that former member of Congress to follow.
Menendez has pleaded not guilty to the previous charges of bribery. He has also refused to resign from the U.S. Senate.
