This week, Senator Bob Menendez arrived at a Manhattan courthouse, surrounded by a crush

of reporters.

He was there to plead not guilty to a federal indictment.

Menendez is a Democrat from New Jersey, and until recently, he was also the powerful

head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He was forced to step down from that position after he was indicted last week by the U.S.

Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Today, I'm announcing that my office has obtained a three-count indictment, charging Senator

Robert Menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen, while

Hana, Jose Yarebe, and Fred Davies for bribery offenses.

The details of that indictment were shocking.

The indictment alleges that through that relationship, the Senator and his wife accepted

hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes.

In exchange for Senator Menendez using his power and influence to protect and to enrich

those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.

So last summer, there was a search of the home that he shares with his wife Nadine Menendez,

formerly Nadine Arslanian, and during that search, the indictment alleges that authorities

found cash and envelopes stuffed in jackets bearing the Senator's name, gold bars, Mercedes

Benz that they alleged was paid for by some of the co-defendants in this case and other

items of value.

Isaac Stanley Becker is a national investigative reporter for the post.

He's been writing about why this indictment matters for the Democratic Party.

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