Embattled Democrat Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has been charged with acting as a foreign agent, a federal indictment has revealed.
Menendez is now facing additional charges of acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes.
He was reportedly working to benefit the Egyptian government through his “power and influence as a Senator.”
The charges were revealed in the superseding indictment filed by a grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday.
A superseding indictment is a formal document issued by a grand jury that replaces and expands upon a previous indictment in a criminal case.
It is used when new evidence or charges arise after an initial indictment has been issued.
“Among other actions, MENENDEZ provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt,” the indictment states.
Menendez, along with his wife Nadine and three other New Jersey businessmen, were first charged in the federal bribery scheme on September 23, as Slay News reported.
Menendez is accused of selling sensitive U.S. government information to Egyptian officials.
On Wednesday, Menendez pleaded not guilty over charges related to allegedly receiving lavish gifts, such as cash, gold bars, and a luxury vehicle, in return for political sway in the upper chamber.
A long list of elected Democrat officials from Menendez’s home state have called on the senator to resign.
Gov. Phil Murphy, Sen. Cory Booker, state Democratic Party Chairman LeRoy Jones, General Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, former Rep. Tom Malinowski, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Rep. Josh Gottheimer, and Rep. Andy Kim have all urged Menendez to step down.
In light of the allegations, Kim has since announced a 2024 challenge to the senator.
Numerous Democrat senators have also asked Menendez to step aside.
Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Michael Bennet (D-CO).
In addition to the Senate Democrats, several members of the House have also called for Menendez to step down.
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is among the House Democrats calling for Menendez to resign.
“It probably would be a good idea if he did resign,” Pelosi told MSNBC.
Radical Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also joined several other Democrats in calling on Menendez to resign over his “extremely serious” bribery charges.
I think the situation is quite unfortunate, but I do believe it is in the best interest for Senator Menendez to resign in this moment,” AOC said on “Face the Nation.”
“As you mentioned, consistency matters.
“It shouldn’t matter whether it is a Republican or Democrat.
“The details in this indictment are extremely serious, they involve the nature of not just his, but all of our seats in Congress, and while, as a Latina, there are absolutely ways in which there is systemic bias, but I think what is here in this indictment is quite clear and I believe it is in the best interest to maintain the integrity of the seat.”
“And I want to emphasize that all people are — they must be extended the presumption of innocence until proven guilty,” she continued.
WATCH:
BREAKING: @AOC calls on Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to resign following his indictment on federal bribery charges, "to maintain the integrity of the seat.”
“It shouldn't matter whether it's a Republican or a Democrat. The details in this indictment are extremely serious.” pic.twitter.com/QAe2H0qmJi
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) September 24, 2023
During searches of his home, investigators found huge sums of cash stuffed into envelopes and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold bars.
READ MORE: ‘Gold Bar Bob’ Menendez Responds to Bribery Indictment Backlash, Blames Racism
