Takeaways from investigation that turned up gold bars, a luxury car and cash at a US senator's home
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car and cash in exchange for using his outsized sway in foreign affairs to help the authoritarian government of Egypt as well as others
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car and cash in exchange for using his outsized sway in foreign affairs to help the government of Egypt — and others — as well as other corrupt acts, according to an indictment unsealed Friday.
Investigators say they found nearly $500,000 in cash hidden in clothing and closets as well as $100,000 in gold bars in a search of the home the 69-year-old senator from New Jersey shares with his wife. Menendez serves as the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The indictment, the second in eight years against Menendez, and comes after a yearslong investigation that delved into his relationships with wealthy New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez says he has been falsely accused but "will not be distracted" from work in the Senate, accusing prosecutors of misrepresenting “the normal work of a congressional office.”
