This is the second time in ten years that Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey has been charged with crimes linked to corruption. He and his spouse, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are being prosecuted on these counts. The pair allegedly took “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for Senator Menendez’s influence, according to the claims, which were made public in a federal indictment.

The prosecution claims that these bribes came in a variety of forms, such as cash, gold, mortgage payments on a house, payment for a “low-or-no-show job,” and an opulent car. Three other people, Will Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes, have been charged in relation to this case in addition to Senator Menendez and his spouse.

Senator Menendez has already faced federal corruption allegations. In the past, he was charged with conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud because of purported personal favors. But the senator was found not guilty in a prior trial, and the Justice Department later dropped the remaining allegations.

In the next year, Senator Menendez will be up for reelection. He will have to resign as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee in accordance with Senate Democratic Caucus rules, but he will still be able to participate on the committee.

Senator Menendez has continuously denied any misconduct during the court case. He was optimistic that there would be no charges after all in a statement he made back in April.

The initial accusations against Senator Menendez were based on claims that he took in excess of $600,000 in campaign contributions, a lavish hotel room in Paris, and private aircraft travels from affluent ophthalmologist Dr. Salomon Melgen in return for political favors. But in 2017, his corruption prosecution resulted in a mistrial, and in 2018, a federal judge cleared him of multiple charges. After a while, the Justice Department threw out the senator’s remaining accusations.

In 2021, Dr. Melgen was given a 17-year sentence for multiple counts of health care fraud in a different case. However, at the time, President Donald Trump had the sentence revoked. Senator Menendez made a bold declaration in 2017 following the revelation of his mistrial, admonishing those who aimed to bring him down politically, saying, “I know who you are, and I won’t forget you.”