New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez faces new counts on Tuesday, as he was charged with obstruction of justice in a superseding indictment in his bribery case.
Federal prosecutors in September accused Menendez and his wife of accepting bribes— including gold, cash, a luxury vehicle and payments toward a home mortgage—from businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes in exchange for advancing their interests, as well as those of the Egyptian government while Menendez was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to court documents. Menendez stepped down from the role following the indictment. He and his wife Nadine Menendez deny all charges against them.
In the indictment unsealed on Tuesday, Menendez and his wife face additional charges, resulting in a new total of 18 criminal counts against the senator. The new charges leveled against Menendez include conspiracy, obstruction of justice, public official acting as a foreign agent, bribery, extortion and honest services wire fraud.
The charges come the day after a judge rejected Menendez’s claims that the search warrants that led to his initial charges were unconstitutional, and just days after one of his co-defendants, Uribe, pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.