Prosecutors seek 15-year sentence for disgraced former NJ Senator Bob Menendez after bribery conviction
Federal prosecutors say disgraced former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez should be imprisoned for 15 years after his conviction in a "long-running bribery and foreign influence scheme of rare gravity." On Friday, prosecutors filed a 108-page briefing outlining their arguments for sentencing Menendez, as well as Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, who were convicted alongside the former lawmaker.
In their briefing, the prosecutors emphasized the seriousness and profundity of the crimes and noted their historical significance.
"As proven at trial, the defendants engaged, for years, in a corruption and foreign influence scheme of stunning brazenness, breadth, and duration, resulting in exceptionally grave abuses of power at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch of the United States Government," prosecutors wrote.
Prosecutors believe that Menendez needs to be thrown behind bars for the "egregious" crimes that they say showed "naked greed" and a "sense of entitlement to convert the public’s trust to private and personal benefit."
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The disgraced former Democrat was accused and convicted of participating in a yearslong bribery scheme involving the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Menendez’s wife, Nadine, who is set to go on trial on January 21, also allegedly participated in the scheme. She is accused of receiving paychecks for a job that did not exist.
"Menendez, who swore an oath to represent the United States and the state of New Jersey, instead put his high office up for sale in exchange for this hoard of bribes," prosecutors noted in the brief.
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Menendez, who was charged in 2023, made history in July 2024 when he became the first US senator to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent. His conviction came after a nine-week-long trial. The former Democratic lawmaker was accused of accepting gifts totaling more than $100,000 in gold bars as well as cash.
His sentencing is currently slated to take place on Jan. 29, 2025.
Jamie Joseph, Anders Hagstrom, and Maria Paronich contributed to this report.