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

A wide range of Democrats, from Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York City, have been calling for Sen. Robert Menendez's resignation following a federal indictment on bribery and corruption charges.

Politico's Kyle Cheney, in an October 12 tweet, highlights a troubling detail in the case. Prosecutors, Cheney notes, allege that "the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was an agent of Egypt from 2018-2022."

Cheney makes his point by tweeting a copy of the federal indictment against Mendez and his wife Nadine Menendez.

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In the document, prosecutors for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) allege, "At all times relevant to this Indictment, MENENDEZ held a leadership position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (the “SFRC”), first as the Ranking Member and then the Chairman, and therefore possessed influence over, among other things, the Executive Branch's decisions to provide foreign military sales, foreign military financing, and other aid or support to or for the benefit of the Government of Egypt."

Prosecutors continue, "By virtue of his position as the senior U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey, at all times relevant to this Indictment, MENENDEZ had the ability to recommend to the President that a particular individual be nominated to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey."

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