Sen. Bob Menendez trial on bribery, corruption allegations scheduled for next year
A judge on Monday scheduled a trial for May 6 in the indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey for an alleged bribery scheme.
The trial is scheduled for just weeks before he will compete in what will likely be a contentious Democratic primary to defend his U.S. Senate seat.
Menendez faces corruption charges, brought by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three businessmen in exchange for helping them enrich themselves and trying to get them out of trouble, according to an indictment unsealed on Sept. 22 New York.
The May 6 day was set for Menendez, who is the senior senator from New Jersey, and the other four defendants in the indictment — his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and businessmen Wael Hana, Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.
The government is required to turn over what they refer to as “voluminous” evidence by a discovery deadline set for Dec. 4.
That includes classified documents though and will have to be reviewed. Relevant attorneys will be given a security checks before it is shared. The prosecution also noted that they are continuing the investigation and more indictments could follow.
What does the indictment say?
The indictment alleges that between 2018 and 2022, Menendez, who until Friday served as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife “engaged in a corrupt relationship with Hana, Uribe and Daibes” to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Menendez using his “power and influence to protect, to enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.”
Bribes allegedly included cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low- or no-show job and a Mercedes-Benz — much of which is detailed in photographs in the 39-page indictment.
Calls for resignation continue to mount
The chorus calling for Menendez's resignation continues to grow. Last week, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said that since Menendez denies the allegations, it is “understandable that he believes stepping down is patently unfair" but that he sees that as a mistake and believes “stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving.”
Booker stood by Menendez when he was indicted in 2015. Menendez denies the current allegations, saying Monday that the "allegations leveled against me are just that," saying this "will be the biggest fight yet" but that he “firmly believes that when all the facts are presented” he will be exonerated.
Gov. Phil Murphy and other New Jersey Democrats have called on Menendez to step down — in stark contrast to the support Menendez received from most Democrats during his earlier corruption case..
Other Democratic senators calling on Menendez to resign include John Fetterman and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Peter Welch of Vermont, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.
The Senate seat
Menendez’s seat is up for re-election next fall and to secure his spot on the ballot, he will need to win the primary on June 4, likely around the time of closing arguments in the case.
Rep. Andy Kim has already announced that he intends to run in that race. He said in a statement that this is "not something I expected to do, but I believe New Jersey deserves better."
"We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our country’s integrity," Kim said. "I believe it’s time we restore faith in our democracy, and that’s why I am stepping up and running for Senate.”
Reports have surfaced in recent weeks that New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy is considering a run for the seat as well.
Candidates have until March to officially file for a spot on the ballot.
Mike Kelly contributed reporting.
Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: [email protected]
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bob Menendez trial on bribery, corruption allegations scheduled
