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Menendez has pleaded not guilty to earlier charges of accepting
hundreds of thousands of dollars from businessmen to impede law
enforcement probes they faced, and illegally acting as an agent
of the Egyptian government. A trial is scheduled for May 6 in
Manhattan federal court.
In the new indictment, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said
Menendez's former lawyers had told them in meetings last year
that Menendez had not been aware until 2022 of mortgage or car
payments that two businessmen had made for his wife, and that
when he found out about the payments he thought they were loans.
"In truth and in fact, and 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," prosecutors wrote.
Menendez called the obstruction allegations false and said
prosecutors were trying to get him to "give in."
"The government has long known that I learned of and helped
repay loans - not bribes - that had been provided to my wife,"
Menendez said in a statement. "I am innocent and will prove it
no matter how many charges they continue to pile on."
Nadine Menendez's lawyers did not immediately respond to a
request for comment. She has pleaded not guilty as well.
The businessman who made the alleged car payment, Jose Uribe,
pleaded guilty last week to fraud and bribery charges.
In charging the senator last September, prosecutors said
investigators had found gold bars and envelopes stuffed with
cash inside jackets in Menendez's apartment.
They also said businessman Wael Hana had arranged meetings
between Menendez and Egyptian officials, who pressed the senator
to sign off on military aid.
In return, Hana put Menendez's wife on the payroll of a company
he controlled, prosecutors said. Hana has pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors filed a more sweeping indictment against Menendez in
January, accusing him of helping a New Jersey businessman seek
investment from a Qatari company with ties to the Middle Eastern
country's government.
Menendez has resisted calls to resign, including from fellow
Democrats. He temporarily stepped down as chair of the Senate
foreign relations committee after being charged in September.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)
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