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US Senator Bob Menendez faces new charges
US senator Robert Menendez, who’s already going through corruption charges, has now been accused of acting as a overseas agent of Egypt.
The new indictment alleges Mr Menendez and his spouse Nadine, offered “sensitive US government information” that helped Egypt’s authorities.
This comes weeks after the couple have been accused of bribery, which they pleaded not responsible to.
The New Jersey Democrat has refused calls to resign.
In September, prosecutors charged Mr Menendez and his spouse Nadine with accepting bribes of money, gold, funds towards a house mortgage and a luxurious automobile from three New Jersey businessmen as half of a scheme to make use of the senator’s affect to extend US assist and navy gross sales to Egypt.
During a search of the senator’s New Jersey house final 12 months, investigators discovered $480,000 (£393,000) in money hidden all through the residence, as properly as 13 bars of gold bullion price an estimated $155,000 (£127,000), prosecutors allege.
The new indictment filed by New York federal prosecutors on Thursday alleges Mr Menendez used “his influence and power to breach his official duty in ways that benefited the Government of Egypt”.
While half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – which he has now stepped down from – he allegedly inspired fellow senators to elevate a maintain on $300m (£246m) in assist to Egypt and offered delicate US authorities info to its authorities, in response to prosecutors.
The indictment alleges the conspiracy occurred between January 2018 and June 2022.
It additionally contains new photographs of Mr Menendez and his spouse, Nadine, eating with Egyptian officers at a steakhouse in Washington, DC. Nadine requested: “What else can the love of my life do for you?” prosecutors alleged.
According to the indictment, “public officials, including Members of Congress, are prohibited from agreeing to be or acting as an agent of a foreign principal required to register under FARA”, which is the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
In final month’s indictment, the pair every face three prison counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit trustworthy companies fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion beneath color of official proper.
Mr. Menendez, 69, had then known as the accusations towards him false and mentioned he could be cleared of any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman known as on the Senate to deliver a decision to expel Mr Menendez from the chamber within the wake of new charges.
“We cannot have an alleged foreign agent in the United States Senate,” Mr Fetterman mentioned in a press release. “This is not a close call.”
The senator’s attorneys didn’t instantly reply to the BBC’s request for touch upon Thursday.
