By Luc Cohen
NEW YORK – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is set to appear in court on Monday to be arraigned on a new indictment charging him with obstruction of justice, as the embattled Democratic lawmaker’s corruption trial draws near.
CONTEXT
Menendez was charged last year with taking bribes from New Jersey businessmen to impede law enforcement probes they faced, and illegally acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. He has previously pleaded not guilty to those charges.
On March 5, a new indictment said Menendez in 2023 had through his former lawyers falsely conveyed to federal prosecutors in Manhattan that the senator thought mortgage and car payments that two businessmen made for his wife were loans, not bribes.
Menendez has called the new charges false and is likely to plead not guilty at Monday’s arraignment before U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein.
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT
New Jersey’s senior senator has resisted calls to resign, including from fellow Democrats. He temporarily stepped down from his role as chair of the Senate’s foreign relations committee after being charged last year.
Menendez’s Senate seat will be contested in the Nov. 5 election, and multiple New Jersey Democrats are vying to replace him. The chamber is divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, with Vice President Kamala Harris able to cast tie-breaking votes for the Democrats.
WHAT’S NEXT
Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, and businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes are set to go on trial on May 6. Nadine Menendez, Hana and Daibes have also pleaded not guilty.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
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