DOJ considering charging Sen. Bob Menendez in corruption probe

Lawyers for Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are expected to meet with federal prosecutors in the coming weeks as the Justice Department nears a decision on whether to charge the powerful lawmaker after a years-long corruption probe. 

The expected discussions between the 69-year-old’s legal team and prosecutors from the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office will provide Menendez an opportunity to make the case for why he shouldn’t be indicted, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

It’s unclear what potential counts could be leveled against the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman or whether his wife, 56-year-old Nadine Arslanian, has been implicated in the government’s investigation, according to the outlet. 

The Southern District of New York’s probe into both Menendez and Arslanian — who had been struggling financially and facing foreclosure on her home before marrying the senator in 2020 — has focused on whether they received unreported luxury gifts, including a car and a Washington apartment, in return for political favors, according to reports.

The investigation dates back to at least 2019, according to the Journal, when federal investigators executed search warrants against New Jersey businessman Wael Hana, who runs the only company allowed to certify meat exports to Egypt as halal and is an associate of Arslanian.

“Any allegations about cars, apartments, cash, and jewelry being provided by anyone associated with ISEG Halal to Senator Menendez or his wife at all, let alone in exchange for any kind of favorable treatment, are totally without basis,” a spokeswoman for Hana told the outlet. 

“As stated previously, the Senator remains confident this matter will be successfully resolved,” Jennifer Morrill, a spokeswoman for Menendez, told The Post on Friday. 

The DOJ’s current investigation is separate from a 2015 probe that resulted in bribery and corruption charges against the Garden State senator and ended in a mistrial two years later with the jury deadlocked.

In the 2015 case, prosecutors alleged that Menendez, who has served in the Senate since 2006, accepted nearly $1 million in private jet flights, vacations, and other gifts from Florida ophthalmologist Dr. Salomon Melgen in exchange for acquiring visas for the doctor’s foreign girlfriends.

Investigators also alleged that Menendez received hefty political donations in exchange for helping Melgen secure lucrative government contracts.

Menendez was also previously investigated for corruption by then-New Jersey US Attorney Chris Christie in 2006 over allegations that a nonprofit group rented space from him while he helped it secure grant money. No charges were brought in that case and the investigation was closed in 2011. 

The Post reported on Thursday that Menendez’s wife cashed in up to $400,000 worth of gold bars between April 7, 2022, and June 16, 2022 — months before his office publicly acknowledged the current federal investigation — and that the senator has established a legal defense fund in order to help pay for his attorneys.