'Bribe payments': Sen. Bob Menendez indicted again — this time for obstruction of justice

The Department of Justice has announced a separate indictment in its ongoing prosecution of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and his wife, Nadine.

According to Bloomberg, the DOJ indicted the couple on federal obstruction of justice charges following a guilty plea from a separate defendant in the investigation. New Jersey's senior US senator and his wife allegedly compelled their attorney to make false statements to prosecutors about a Mercedes-Benz convertible and mortgage payments.

Businessman Jose Uribe — who is cooperating with federal investigators — said that while the initial story was that the car payments were loans, the vehicle itself was actually considered a gift to the senator for helping to resolve the indictment of one of Uribe's employees. Meanwhile, Egyptian businessman Wael Hana said the mortgage payments were allegedly part of a separate bribery scheme. Like the car payments, Menendez allegedly communicated to his attorney that the mortgage payments were to be considered loans.

READ MORE: Prosecutors say Menendez was an agent of Egypt while head of Senate Foreign Relations: federal indictment

"As Menendez well knew, Menendez had learned of both the mortgage company payment and the car payments prior to 2022, and they were not loans, but bribe payments," the indictment read.

The New Jersey senator was initially indicted in September for allegedly taking bribes from the Egyptian government while he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The DOJ accused Menendez of using his position to steer policy in favor of Egypt, and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes over a number of years which included cash, gold bars and luxury vehicles. He also allegedly pressured an official at the US Department of Agriculture to protect a "business monopoly" that Egypt granted Hana.

"The FBI has made investigating public corruption a top priority since our founding — nothing has changed," FBI assistant director in charge James Smith stated after the initial indictment. "The alleged conduct in this conspiracy damages the public’s faith in our system of government and brings undue scorn to the honest and dedicated public servants who carry out their duties on a daily basis."

"To those inclined to use the status of their public office for personal benefit, or those willing to provide bribes in an attempt to gain influence from a public official, the FBI will ensure that you face the consequences in the criminal justice system for your underhanded dealings," he added.

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Following his first indictment, dozens of Senate Democrats called on their colleague to resign from office. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) has even called on the Senate to expel Menendez, citing the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-New York) as justification to remove the New Jersey senator from the body.

"Santos' lies were almost kind of funny, you know like he landed on the moon and that kind of stuff," Fetterman said on ABC's The View in December. "Whereas you know, Menendez is kind of like a senator for Egypt, you know, not New Jersey. So I really think he needs to go."

In addition to opposition from his fellow Senate Democrats, Menendez is also facing numerous primary challenges from within his own party, with Rep. Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) and New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy both vying for his seat. Even though Kim has been raising millions of dollars in his own bid, Murphy recently won the endorsement of the Bergen County Democratic Party — which represents Democrats in New Jersey's largest county. Menendez has not yet announced if he will seek another term in the US Senate.

Menendez has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is due to stand trial on May 6.

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