US jury finds top Senator Bob Menendez guilty in bribery trial
Al Jazeera
Top Democrat faces growing calls to resign after being found guilty of accepting cash, gold bars and other bribes.
Top United States Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty of all 16 criminal counts he faced in a widely watched bribery trial in New York, including corruption and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.
A Manhattan federal court jury delivered its verdict on Tuesday after deliberating for more than 12 hours over three days.
After the verdict was read out, Menendez rested his elbows on the table, clasped his hands together, and stared straight ahead. He said afterwards that he plans to appeal.
Prosecutors had accused Menendez, a New Jersey lawmaker and an influential figure in the Democratic Party, of taking part in overlapping bribery schemes in which he and his wife accepted bribes from three businessmen who wanted Menendez’s help.
In exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and car and mortgage payments, Menendez helped steer billions of dollars in US aid to Egypt, where one of the businessmen, Wael Hana, had ties to government officials, according to prosecutors.
