Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who’s been hit with a slew of indictments in a bribery scheme involving Egypt and Qatar, will not be seeking re-election this November, according to a report.
A source close to the matter told The New York Post that Menendez, “will not be running.”
The news comes after new obstruction charges were added earlier this week to a rewritten indictment returned against Menendez and his wife, Nadine.
FILE: Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The couple is being investigated over allegations that they accepted bribes of gold bars, cash and a luxury car from three favor-seeking New Jersey businessmen.
Menendez, 70, has maintained his innocence, calling the additional charges: “a flagrant abuse of power.”
After his fall arrest, Menendez was forced to relinquish his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but said he would not resign from Congress.
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The senator and his wife are scheduled to go on trial in May on an array of corruption allegations. Among other things, Menendez is accused of taking actions that benefited the governments of Egypt and Qatar as a way of helping two New Jersey associates get financial deals linked to those two countries.
FILE: Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) arrives to the Senate Chambers of the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
According to an indictment, Menendez and his wife accepted gold bars and cash from a real estate developer in return for the senator using his clout to get that businessman a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund.
Menendez was charged with helping another New Jersey business associate get a lucrative deal with the government of Egypt.
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An FBI raid on the couple’s home in 2022 resulted in the discovery of over $100,000 in gold bars and more than $480,000 in cash, much of it hidden in closets, clothing and a safe, prosecutors said. Menendez said the cash found in the house was personal savings he had put away for emergencies.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Menendez’s office for further comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
