US Senator Bob Menendez pleads not guilty to new charge of acting as an agent of Egypt

United States Senator Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty in a New York court, on Monday (Oct 23) to a new charge alleging that the Democratic lawmaker conspired to act as an agent of the Egyptian government while serving as a member of Congress.

This comes after the senator from New Jersey who is said to be one of the most influential Democrats in the country rejected calls for his resignation but did step down from his chairmanship of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

What was the new charge about?

The 69-year-old senator said “not guilty” when asked to plead his case before Judge Sidney Stein at federal court in lower Manhattan.

This comes after federal prosecutors accused Menendez of conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government – Egypt – to which he again pleaded not guilty, said a spokesman for the US attorney’s office in Manhattan.

The new charge comes as Menendez, along with his wife and three other people, was indicted on charges of taking bribes and influence peddling to benefit Egypt, to which they had already pleaded not guilty last month.

Prosecutors have alleged that the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three businessmen in exchange for a range of corrupt acts between 2018 and 2022.

The federal prosecutors have also said that Menendez used “his influence and power to breach his official duty in ways that benefited the Government of Egypt”.

According to US laws, members of Congress cannot work on behalf of another country’s government.

Menendez calls new charge ‘absurd’

Speaking about the new charge against him, the US senator in a statement said that it “flies in the face of my long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt...Anyone who knows my record, knows this latest charge is as outrageous as it is absurd.”

So far, Menendez has resisted calls from more than 30 national Democrats to resign amid accusations that he passed information to the Egyptians about the staff at the US embassy in Cairo, ghostwriting a letter on Egypt’s behalf to influence fellow senators, among others.

If convicted, the 69-year-old senator could face up to five years in prison. Menendez was released on Monday on a $100,000 bond. His criminal trial is not expected to begin for another six months.

(With inputs from agencies)

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