Senator Bob Menendez pleads not guilty to new charge in corruption case

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez and two other co-defendants named in a corruption case pleaded not guilty to an additional obstruction of justice charge brought against them by federal prosecutors in an arraignment on Monday.

For thesecond time in less than a year, Mr Menendez, 70, entered the Daniel Patrick Moynihan federal courthouse in New York City to face an arraignment on charges that accuse him, his wife and two New Jersey businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, ofparticipating in a bribery scheme in exchange for political favours.

After entering the courtroom just before his arraignment, Mr Menendez sat facing forward with his hands in a steeple position. Attorneys for him and his co-defendants flanked him, Ms Menendez, Mr Hana and Mr Daibes. All four were present in the courtroom.

Last week, federal prosecutors returned a superseding indictment against Mr Menendez, Ms Menendez, Mr Hanna and Mr Daibes – increasing the charges from four to 18 just two months before trial is slated to begin.

The fresh charges accuse the senator and co-defendants of obstruction of justice, among others, by attempting to repay a former co-defendant for bribes they previously accepted after learning they were under investigation.

They arrived after the former co-defendant, Jose Uribe, agreed to plead guilty to seven charges and cooperate with the government’s investigation. According to court filings, Mr Uribe told prosecutors as well as the judge overseeing the cases that he lied to investigators and his own lawyer, allegedly at the behest of Ms Menendez.

US Senator Bob Menendez arrives with his wife Nadine Menendez for their arraignment

This is just a small portion of the wider corruption case against the