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In a stunning new charge by federal prosecutors, New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez has been accused of acting as a foreign agent of Egypt while he served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, and a third defendant, New Jersey businessman Wael Hana, have also been charged with failing to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Hana is from Bayonne but moved to a luxury apartment building in Englewood after he was awarded a contract to certify halal products for Egypt’s 90 million Muslims, allegedly through his connections with Senator Menendez.
Nadine Menendez, formerly Nadine Arslanian, was a divorced mother of two living in Englewood Cliffs when she met her husband at an IHOP in Union City; the two fell in love over pancakes.
The charges are in addition to allegations brought against Senator Mendez, 69, his wife, Hana and two other businessmen last month that involved a Mercedes-Benz convertible, bars of gold bullion and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash that were allegedly exchanged for the senator’s sway in increasing U.S. aid and military sales to Egypt.
Prosecutors have asked a judge to seize Senator Menendez’s Englewood Cliffs residence and the Mercedez-Benz. As a public official, he is prohibited from acting as a foreign agent.
Last month, all five defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Senator Menendez, who is scheduled to host a major fundraiser in Puerto Rico this weekend, has denied all charges.
It’s the second time he has faced federal corruption charges; in 2015, he was indicted in New Jersey in an alleged bribery scheme, but the case ended in a hung jury.
On Thursday, Democratic Rep. Andy Kim, who was the first major candidate to announce that he will launch a primary bid against the three-term senator, called for the U.S. Senate to hold a vote to expel Menendez. Rep. Josh Gottheimer’s name has also been floated as a possible candidate.
Menendez has rejected pressure to resign, saying, “I am not going anywhere.”
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