Sen. Bob Menendez departs the Capitol, on Sept. 28, 2023, in Washington.
U.S. District Court Southern District of New York

In combination with the earlier charges, the new indictment paints a damning portrait of a sitting congressman allegedly using his office not to benefit his constituents but to advance the interests of a foreign nation.

The original charges accused the Menendezes of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in cash, gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible and home mortgage payments. In exchange, prosecutors said, the couple benefitted the three New Jersey businesspeople and the government of Egypt between 2018 and 2022, “including with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing.” Menendez had significant influence over those matters as the chair and, prior to that, as the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

All of the defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges in the original indictment.

In a statement Thursday evening, Menendez insisted he is innocent.

“The government’s latest charge flies in the face of my long record of standing up for human rights and democracy in Egypt and in challenging leaders of that country, including President El-Sisi on these issues,” he said. “I have been, throughout my life, loyal to only one country — the United States of America, the land my family chose to live in democracy and freedom.

An attorney for Hana, Larry Lustberg, called the allegation against his client “as absurd as it is false.” He added: “As with the other charges in this indictment, Mr. Hana will vigorously defend against this baseless allegation.”

The new indictment accused the Menendezes and Hana of a more extreme level of advocacy on behalf of Egypt, saying that the senator “promised to take and took a series of acts on behalf of Egypt, including on behalf of Egyptian military and intelligence officials,” and that his wife and Hana “communicated requests and directives from Egyptian officials” to the senator.

In a photo from an updated indictment, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is seen with Nadine Menendez, Wael Hana and Egyptian officials at dinner in Washington.