New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has been convicted of 16 counts related to a scam in which he accepted bribes, including gold bullion and a Mercedes-Benz, in exchange for helping foreign governments.
Menendez, a former head of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, now faces decades in prison and possible expulsion from the Democratic Party.
He maintained he was not guilty throughout the eight-week trial, with his lawyers arguing that the gifts he accepted could not be classified as bribes because prosecutors had failed to prove he took any specific action following their receipt.
Menendez’s wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, is also charged with corruption, but her trial was delayed so she could undergo treatment for breast cancer. She has pleaded not guilty.
Her lawyers tried to shift the blame onto Ms. Menendez, portraying her as someone in financial difficulty who hoped to “obtain money and property by any means possible.”
A jury found Menendez guilty on all counts after more than 12 hours of deliberations over three days. The trial lasted nine weeks.
Two businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, are also on trial, accused of soliciting the senator to illegally help the Egyptian government and obtain millions of dollars from a Qatari investment fund.
A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty and testified against Mr. Menendez at trial.
At trial, prosecutors relied on expert testimony, emails and text messages from Mr. Menendez to show that the senator accepted lavish rewards from foreign governments.
They said the gifts included gold bars worth more than $100,000 (£79,000).
Menendez is currently running as an independent, hoping to retain his seat in the November election after most state Democrats abandoned him when the indictment showing gold bars hidden in his home was released late last year.
The senator has already been charged with federal corruption. He went to trial in 2017, with the Justice Department accusing him of providing political favors to a wealthy Florida eye doctor in exchange for luxury vacations and other lavish gifts.
But that case ended in a mistrial after he was acquitted of some charges and jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
