NEW YORK — Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted Tuesday of accepting bribes from three businessmen who showered him and his wife with cash, gold bullion and a Mercedes-Benz, an extravagant reward for his help in cutting deals with foreign officials and trying to derail several criminal investigations in New Jersey.
The Manhattan federal court jury found the once-powerful New Jersey lawmaker guilty of all 16 charges against him. The charges include bribery, extortion, wire fraud, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt between 2018 and 2022, when Mr. Menendez was at the height of his influence in Washington, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or as the committee’s top Democrat when his party was in the minority.
The trial’s two co-defendants, real estate developer Fred Daibes and businessman Wael “Will” Hana, were also convicted.
Mr. Menendez did not testify in his own defense. His team is expected to appeal, and legal experts say he could be helped by Supreme Court rulings in recent years that narrow the scope of federal bribery laws.
But the 70-year-old senator’s political downfall is all but complete. New Jersey Democrats abandoned him after his indictment. He declined to run for his party’s nomination for a fourth term, instead launching an independent race in a state where Democrats have held both U.S. Senate seats for more than 50 years.
Andy Kim, a national security expert in the House of Representatives, won the Democratic primary to succeed Menendez last month and will face Republican Curtis Bashaw, a hotelier, in the November election. Mr. Menendez could serve out his term even after his conviction, but his colleagues could vote to expel him if he does not resign. If Mr. Menendez loses his seat, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) will appoint a senator pro tempore to serve until January.
Menendez, who beat another set of corruption charges in New Jersey federal court in 2017, has been on trial in Manhattan for two months. Jurors have heard witnesses describe how the longtime lawmaker plunged into a world of Egyptian spies and international intrigue after falling in love with a divorcee he met at his local creperie.
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