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Menendez entered the plea at a hearing before U.S. District
Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan.
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.
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 also pleaded not guilty on Monday.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis
and Deepa Babington)
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