New Jersey Sen. Bob Menedez and his wife are going to be indicted by the Southern District of New York.“A press event will be held today at 11:00 a.m. to announce the unsealing of an indictment charging Robert Menendez, U.S. Senator from New Jersey, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, with bribery offenses in connection with their corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen,” the attorneys for The Southern District of New York said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
charges over favors he did for a friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen,” the outlet added.

Menendez was accused of putting pressure on government officials to settle a Medicare billing dispute in Melgen’s favor, obtaining visas for the doctor’s girlfriends, and assisting in the protection of a contract the doctor had with the Dominican Republic to provide port-screening equipment.

Menendez has always claimed innocence. His lawyers claimed that Melgen’s campaign contributions and gifts, which included trips on his private jet to a Dominican Republic resort and a vacation in Paris, were not bribes but rather tokens of their longtime friendship.“Prosecutors are expected to meet with his lawyers in the coming weeks ahead of a final decision. New Jersey’s senior U.S. senator, a Democrat who serves as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez has been under scrutiny by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York. The probe in part has examined whether he or his wife, Nadine Arslanian, received gifts in exchange for political favors, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“Prosecutors also have investigated the circumstances surrounding a lucrative contract that a New Jersey businessman secured with Egyptian officials for certifying halal meat exports, the Journal has reported. The businessman, whom Menendez hosted in his office along with Egyptian officials in 2018, became the sole certifier of halal meat exported from the U.S. to Egypt the following year,” the outlet added.