Bob Menendez found guilty in bribery and corruption scheme

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty on all 16 charges, including bribery and corruption, for his involvement in a years-long bribery scheme in which he wielded his political influence to help officials in the Egyptian government.

After a nine-long week trial, a jury of 12 in New York agreed with federal prosecutors that Menendez, 70, knowingly took bribes in the form of gold bars, cash, car payments, jewelry and more from two New Jersey businessmen and foreign leaders in exchange for his backing.

That support, the prosecution argued, ultimately helped the US release millions of dollars in military aid to Egypt, supported a New Jersey businessman’s monopoly on a halal-certifying meat company, introduced a New Jersey real estate developer to members of the Qatari royal family for investment purposes and attempted to interfere with two New Jersey criminal cases.

Jurors deliberated for approximately 12 hours across three days before returning the verdict on Tuesday.

His wife, Nadine Menendez, became a pivotal player throughout the trial – though Judge Sidney Stein severed her trial from her husband’s after it was revealed she is currently battling breast cancer.

Her trial is indefinitely delayed for the time being.

Menendez, who once chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was charged with 16 counts including bribery, extortion, corruption, and acting as a foreign agent as a public official and more in September. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

He is the first senator ever to be charged under the acting as a foreign agent statute.

Menendez, a three-term Democratic senator, was thrown into yet another bribery scheme last year when prosecutors unveiled the bombshell indictment against