Former Sen. Bob Menendez reports to federal prison

The embattled former Sen. Bob Menendez, D.-N.J., began serving his 11-year prison sentence on Tuesday after his conviction in a foreign bribery scheme. A federal jury in July found Menendez guilty of over a dozen charges, including extortion, bribery, and wire fraud. The 71-year-old maintained his innocence. He reported Tuesday morning to the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania.

A panel of federal judges denied the senator’s recent request to remain out on bail while he appealed the conviction. Menendez previously described the prosecution of his case as a political witch hunt after his January sentencing. President Donald Trump was right in saying that prosecutions are corrupt and political, the career Democrat told reporters outside the courthouse.

Has Menendez commented on starting the sentence? The senator posted several statements on the social media platform X Tuesday, which were soon deleted. Those statements accused prosecutors of having political motivations and praised Trump, the Associated Press reported. Menendez released statements last week alleging that prosecutors violated the Constitution and included improper evidence in his case. He released more statements earlier this month alleging that his indictment was the result of political retribution for his past opposition to former President Barack Obama’s policies in Cuba. Obama’s influence prevailed throughout the Biden administration, which is why Trump is correct in believing that the Department of Justice was weaponized against him, according to the former senator.

What kind of bribery and fraud did he commit? The government charged Menendez and his wife, Nadine, after finding gold bars, $480,000 in cash, and a Mercedes-Benz at their New Jersey home during an FBI raid in 2022. Prosecutors alleged that businessmen Fred Daibes, Wael Hana, and Jose Uribe bribed the couple to benefit themselves and the Egyptian government.

Daibes received a sentence of seven years in prison with a $1.75 million fine, and Hana is expected to serve more than eight years in prison with a $1.3 million fine. Uribe accepted a plea deal in exchange for testifying against the defendants. Nadine was convicted of fraud and bribery charges similar to her husband's in April. She is expected to be sentenced in September, after several postponements to accommodate her breast cancer treatments and recovery.

Dig deeper: Read my initial 2023 report on Menendez’s charges and his explanation for the bars of gold found by investigators.