Sen. Menendez charged with receiving gifts from Qatar in new allegations in corruption scheme

CNN —

Federal prosecutors allege Sen. Bob Menendez accepted race car tickets and other gifts from Qatar as part of a yearslong corruption scheme, with the Gulf nation joining Egypt as another foreign country the New Jersey Democrat is accused of helping while in office.

Prosecutors allege in the superseding indictment that Menendez’s bribery and extortion scheme continued into 2023, a year longer than initially alleged. The new indictment, made public Tuesday, amends and replaces the original indictment, listing the formal charges against a defendant.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) stands in an elevator after leaving his office in the Hart Senate Office Building on September 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. Menendez will address Senate Democrats in a caucus meeting later today, a day after being arraigned on federal bribery charges in New York City.

READ: Superseding indictment in Menendez corruption case

Among the new allegations, according to the indictment, is that Menendez accepted payments from one of his co-conspirators, New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes, in exchange for using his influence to help Daibes obtain millions of dollars from an investment fund tied to Qatar. The senator, prosecutors allege, additionally took steps to help Qatar.

Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, Daibes and two other New Jersey businessmen were indicted as part of a bribery scheme last year. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In addition to the bribery charges, Menendez is accused of acting as a foreign agent for the government of Egypt by allegedly taking steps to help the country in exchange for one of the defendants obtaining a monopoly on a Halal export business. Menendez has vigorously denied any wrongdoing.