Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat charged last month with taking bribes in exchange for lucrative political favors, faced a stunning new accusation on Thursday — that he conspired to act as an foreign agent of Egypt even as he served as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Manhattan federal prosecutors on Thursday released the fresh charge against Mr. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, as well as a third defendant, Wael Hana, accusing them of failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The prosecutors have asked a judge to seize the Menendezes’ residence in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., as well as a Mercedes-Benz convertible that the government says was given to them as a bribe.
As a public official, Mr. Menendez, 69, was prohibited from serving as a foreign agent, the new indictment notes.
Mr. Menendez, Nadine Menendez, 56, Mr. Hana and two other businessmen were accused last month in what prosecutors described as a scheme to use the senator’s influence to increase U.S. aid and military sales to Egypt in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars, bars of gold bullion and the Mercedes-Benz. In court hearings last month, all five defendants pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Menendez has called the accusations against him false and said he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. Lawyers for the senator, Ms. Menendez and Mr. Hana did not immediately response to requests for comment on Thursday.
Mr. Menendez voluntarily stepped down from his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee after the initial indictment was made public last month. But Mr. Menendez has rejected calls to resign from the Senate from fellow Democrats. Thursday’s new charge is likely to intensify that pressure.
In a sign of his defiant stance, Mr. Menendez was scheduled to host a major fund-raising retreat for donors of his political action committee starting Friday at a luxury resort in Puerto Rico.
This is not the first time that Mr. Menendez has faced federal corruption charges. He was indicted in New Jersey in 2015 in what prosecutors described as a bribery scheme to trade political favors for a wealthy eye doctor for gifts worth close to $1 million, including high-end travel and campaign contributions.
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