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On your screen there the Podium Set Up at the Department Of Justice where federal officials will be holding a Press Conference to announce Bribery Charges against democratic senator bob menendez along with his wife nadine. Well bring you the remarks when they begin. A Federal Grand Jury allege they received, quotes, Hundreds Of Thousands of dollars in bribes using his influence in washington to enrich several new jersey businessmen, as well as the egyptian government. As for menendez future on capitol hill, a source says he will be stepping down as chairman of a committee while this goes on. We are awaiting that News Conference to begin. Ken, what else is inside this indictment . How serious are the charges . Reporter extremely serious. This is a Bribery Indictment against Senator Menendez and his wife nadine. This involves new jersey businessmen who sought and got the senators Assistance Intervening in criminal cases. The indictment says menendez went into Business Transactions for a number of things. They say the conduct began in 2018, the year menendez was reelected. The indictment says federal agents searched his home about a year ago and found over 480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed in envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe. It says some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints or dna of one of the alleged bribers or his driver. A lot of this evidence comes from Text Messages sent or received by Nadine Menendez. The texts show shes demanding money from these men. The indictment said Senator Menendez helped one of the men secure contracts with egypt and in March Of 2020 nadine texted an egyptian officials and said anything you need, well make it happen. There was another text message where her husband sent her a link to a News Article Reporting on two pending Military Sales to egypt and Nadine Menendez forwarded the link to the egyptian meat guy saying bob had to sign off on this. Theres an issue proving a quid pro quo, proving that menendez did these acts for the money. Prosecutors have a lot of evidence. Theres a 39page indictment, ken. As you say its very specific and includes those photos of the money and what they say is the senators jacket and these two gold bars, more than 100,000 worth of gold found on site, ken . Reporter thats right. That was part of what was seized. The indictment has describes a Google Search made by someone at the menendez home, how much does a kilo of gold fetch. As you said, its a speaking indictment, 39 pages full of photos, of things seized. Obviously the seizure of gold bars doesnt prove that bob menendez took a bribe. When you read the indictment, it paints a picture of an ongoing exchange of favors and official action. Really Nadine Menendez at the center of it growing annoyed when some of the money doesnt arrive on time. She had a Consulting Business she was being paid by some of these people. It describes Senator Menendez taking action by intervening in a state and criminal investigation by speaking with Law Enforcement officials who would come to testify at this trial. Very powerful evidence. Ryan, as we await the beginning of this News Conference there you see the Podium Set Up what does this mean for menendez role and position on capitol hill . Reporter no doubt, jose, this complicates the situation. He is one of the most powerful members of the United States senate. He sits as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Hes likely to step away while he deals with this indictment. He wields incredible influence on capitol hill and in the state of new jersey. As ken points out in the indictment, thats what prosecutors are alleging, he was using that political influence to help Business Partners who were providing him bribes in exchange for the help. This makes the situation complicated for democrats on capitol hill. Theres a narrow margin between democrats and republicans in the United States senate. Democrats enjoy that majority. We have not heard from Chuck Schumer as to how he intends to handle this situation with menendez. When menendez went through this in the past, as we pointed out back in 2018, he was under criminal indictment. Underwent a trial. He stepped away from the Foreign Relations committee at that time. He was not acquitted in that case. It was a hung jury and prosecutors dropped the charges. Menendez described himself as being vindicated. Then he went on to win reelection. This could complicate things. This is the second time hes been under a criminal probe. Hes up for reelection in 2024. New jersey is a democratic state. They have elected republicans in the past. Its not out of The Realm Of Possibility his seat could be in danger. There is a lot at stake here for democrats when you have someone in a position of power like menendez when youre dealing with a senate map where the margins are so tight. Its not something that they would want to have to deal with all happening at once. As were coming up past seven minutes past the hour, ryan, any reactions from any lawmakers . Reporter no. This indictment has just come down in the last hour. The senate and house are not in session today. We have not had the opportunity to ask many of these lawmakers. Weve reached out to many to get a response. You know, i did run into Senator Menendez yesterday when we were hearing reports that this indictment could come down. I specifically asked him if he was concerned about a potential indictment or had any response. He refused to answer any questions. His spokesperson pointing to past statements saying when this is over, he expected to be vindicated. This is something capitol hill is just digesting. The initial reaction is yet to come. Ken, take us down the road Going Forward. Whats next for this case . Reporter well, next will be the initial appearances by the defendants. I should say, jose, as were sitting here we have statements coming in from some defendants. Their lawyers say they reviewed the indictment and believe the allegations have no merit. No doubt bob menendez is going to profess his innocence if he hasnt already, and theyre presumed innocent. The initial appearance and the arraignment and then a series of pretrial motions and maneuvering. Generally that takes about a year in federal cases. Could be sooner. Approximately a year for a case like this to go to trial. These defendants that are included along with the senator, his wife and other defendants, has the senator had any comment on this . I know you said presumably hell say hes not guilty. Any comment at all . As our colleague jonathan has been reporting, the Senators Office has made comments saying theres no wrongdoing here and they expect to be vindicated. Its so interesting. When you look at the last Corruption Case where he wasnt convicted, the allegations were similar. It was a friend of the senator, an eye doctor, a florida eye doctor, who allegedly provided him well, did provide because the Senate Ethics committee showed he provided gifts of trips to the senator in exchange for official acts. At the end of the day a jury was hung and did not convict the senator. Then the Justice Department decided not to retry the case. The Senate Ethics committee weighed in and admonished the senator, saying they took his gifts he shouldnt have taken. The florida eye doctor was later convicted of Medicare Fraud and sentenced to 17 years in prison and then pardoned by donald trump at the urging of Senator Menendez. Thats a separate case. It may have sent a message to Senator Menendez, you know, he could take gifts, lucrative gifts from people, and he wasnt prosecuted for it. Now you have a series of Text Messages from his wife that seem to be very incriminating. Ken, this all thank you for bringing us the details on this. This current indictment starts in 2018 when the senator meets his now wife. Reporter thats right. The other case fell apart in 2017. Then the senator ran for reelection in 2018 and was reelected. This indictment is saying thats when the conduct began. At the same time he began dating the woman who would later become his wife. As were seeing and setting up the different camera shots, theres some of the photos in the indictment. There you see what they say is the senators jacket with some 100 bills on it. Theres some gold bars that Officials Say were found in the senators home, about 100,000 worth of gold bars. This is one of the automobiles that, according to the indictment, was given to the senator, or at least lent to the senator for either his or his wifes use. That car was found in the parking of the apartment when authorities following the permission went in and searched the area. Ryan, is there any way to kind of describe the influence of the senator from new jersey . Reporter yeah. First of all, jose, he has a level of seniority that not many members have had. Hes been here for a long time. This is an institution that prizes seniority. Hes amassed a great deal of power. Sitting on the Foreign Relations committee is one of the most important in the u. S. Senate. Its a focal point around u. S. Diplomatics. It controls the Purse Strings of aid that goes to other country. Menendez is at the table for many of these National Security issues of which the United States is a central player in. Hes an ally to the white house in terms of funding for ukraine, the ukraine war effort, concerns about relations with china and chinas growing threat and also we should point out that the fact that he sits on his perch as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is part of why prosecutors are concerned about the relationships he has with foreign business entities. Also, i want to point out how historic this second indictment of Senator Menendez is. According to our team, frank thorpe tracked this down, the data seems to indicate that he is the first United States senator in history to be indicted on two unrelated criminal allegations. There have been other senators who have been indicted multiple times because of the same allegation. These are two completely different allegations that Senator Menendez is subject to. Hes the first United States senator to deal with two separate indictments while serving in the United States senate. You have to wonder if that adds to the laundry list of reasons why their may be calls for him to step down from his position, as opposed to stepping down from his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Hes not necessarily stepping down from the Foreign Relations committee out of the goodness of his heart. Its a rule as part of the senate caucus. If youre under indictment, you cannot serve as the chair of a committee. Not only is he doing it maybe it is voluntarily, but its something he would be compelled to do as a result of the senate rules. And something he did last time he was indicted. Reporter thats right. Hes done this in the past. We should also point out, jose, that hes been defiant when it comes to these charges. Hes repeatedly said hes not guilty of any crimes. The idea he may end up stepping down completely from the United States senate would be a long shot given how defiant hes been. Also, thats not the trend on capitol hill. Weve seen a lot of members of Congress Facing serious accusations, facing accusations of ethics or corruption charges and instead of stepping away from their positions theyve remained until theres an outcome. George santos on the house side is under criminal indictment. He refuses to step down. Congressman matt gaetz faced a Serious Investigation by the Department Of Justice which didnt result in charges, but hes still facing questions from the house ethics committee. Hes still refusing to step down. This is the trend line. When facing serious criminal investigations, accusations or indictments, members of congress tend to hang on. Ken, you know, you mentioned its a spoken indictment and a very long and detailed indictment. Ken, you were talking about that earlier, there is the responsibility by the government to prove that there were quid pro quos, that there was something done for payment or in kind. Public officials and members of congress, senators have to deal with their constituents every day and part of their responsibility is to serve their constituents. Thats one thing. The other thing is when you have photos of cash and money and gold bars and a car, it is the responsibility of the government to tie these two together. Reporter youre absolutely right, jose. Youre getting to the heart of the matter. A series of Supreme Court cases has made it much more difficult for federal prosecutors to prove political corruption. It used to be the case that if they showed a pattern of gifts from a Business Person and then a pattern of assistance from that lawmaker, Public Officials, that benefited the gift giver, that was enough to convict on a charge and even potentially bribery. Now the Supreme Court said you have to show a quid pro quo. The acts dont have to be carried out as long as you had an agreement to commit an official act for money, thats enough to convict on bribery. We can think and use common sense. Thats a difficult thing to prove. There is nothing in this indictment, at least that i can see, that suggests a smoking gun, wire tap with both Senator Menendez admitting on tape that he took the money in exchange for the official acts. Ken, let me interrupt you. I think its begun. Were not going to take any questions today. Well start in about a minute. Thats the oneminute warning they give you as an update when theyll start. Ken, just finish that thought in a minute or less. Reporter sure. What the indictment instead of having the smoking gun evidence, like senator bob menendez on tape, they have a mountain of circumstantial evidence, particularly from his wife where shes asking for and even demanding payments and favors and then describing the favors that her husband is doing for some of these people and then they also point out that Senator Menendez didnt disclose some of the alleged payments on his Senate Ethics financial disclosure. I see were assembling here. This is part of the team thats going to hold the News Conference. They will not be taking any questions, but its maybe a more detailed explanation of this indictment. There you see it. Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming. My name is Damian Williams, im the United States attorney here in the Southern District of new york. Im announcing my office obtained a threecount indictment charging senator robert menendez, his wife Nadine Menendez and three new jersey businessmen for bribery offenses. The investigation that led to these charges has been run out of the Southern District of new york. The indictment alleges that between 2018 and 2022 Senator Menendez, the senior u. S. Senator from new jersey, and the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and his wife Nadine Menendez engaged in a corrupt relationship. The indictment alleges 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 enrich those businessmen and benefit the government of egypt. The in