DOJ files new charges against Sen. Menendez

The Department of Justice on Tuesday unveiled another superseding indictment against Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. This is his third superseding indictment.

What did the previous ones allege? The original indictment from the Justice Department in September alleged that Menendez conspired to engage in bribery and wire fraud. A superseding indictment from October alleged that he also conspired to act as an unregistered foreign agent of the Egyptian government. Another superseding indictment from January of this year alleged he accepted gifts from Qatari government officials in exchange for helping a government company secure business in the United States.

What’s new about this one? This superseding indictment adds 14 charges to the last indictment and bolsters previous charges against him. It upgrades conspiracy to commit bribery to bribery, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud to wire fraud. It also lists further actions he allegedly took as a part of his alleged bribery and wire fraud scheme. The Justice Department’s latest indictment comes after one of Menendez’s co-defendants, Jose Uribe, accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Menendez in earlier charges. Menendez and his wife, who is also implicated in the indictments, have denied wrongdoing.

Dig deeper: Read Hunter Baker’s column in WORLD Opinions comparing and contrasting the wrongdoing of Sen. Menendez with that of former U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y.