NEW YORK (NewsNation) —New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was found guilty of accepting bribes, including gold and a luxury car.
Menendez pleaded not guilty to 16 felony charges that he accepted bribes from three New Jersey businessmen, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from 2018 to 2022.
Speaking to the press, Menendez said the verdict puts every senator at risk of being considered a foreign agent. His attorney said they planned to appeal.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Menendez to resign following the verdict, as did New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and fellow New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, both Democrats.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said in a statement that Menendez displayed “shocking levels of corruption.”
“Because Senator Menendez has now been found guilty, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end. Corruption isn’t costless: it erodes public trust, and it undermines the rule of law. That’s why we’re so committed to fighting it, regardless of political party,” Williams said in a statement.
The trial lasted nine weeks and took place in a Manhattan federal court. The start of jury deliberations had been pushed back a day due to a four-hour prosecution rebuttal.
During the rebuttal, the prosecution repeated much of its five-hour-long closing argument, revisiting the cash and gold found in Menendez’s home and saying there doesn’t need to be a video of the senator accepting the alleged bribes to be able to make the connection. Prosecutors also revisited the testimony of Jose Uribe, one of the three businessmen who were accused of bribing the senator.
Following the conviction, Menendez could face prison.
Menendez trial recap
Menendez and his wife, Nadine, had been accused of accepting bribes such as cash and gold bars from wealthy New Jersey businessmen and performing favors in return. These favors allegedly include meddling in criminal investigations and taking actions that benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
It marked the second time Menendez has faced federal corruption charges in a decade.
During closing arguments, Menendez’s defense attorney spent a total of five hours over two days telling the jury the prosecution’s case is thin and has failed to connect evidence of bribery or corruption to the senator directly.
Menendez was tried with two of the businessmen in connection to the case, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, who also pleaded not guilty. Uribe, who testified against Menendez, pleaded guilty.
Nadine Menendez’s trial has been postponed while she recovers from breast cancer surgery. She also has pleaded not guilty.
What happens next?
Menendez has made it clear he plans to appeal the decision. In the meantime, he has not indicated he plans to relinquish his Senate seat.
The Senate may expel members for “disorderly behavior” under Article 1, Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution. Expulsion requires a two-thirds majority in the chamber.
Since 1789, the Senate has only expelled 15 members, and 14 of those were Confederate supporters during the Civil War.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.