A ranking senator in the United States, Sen. Bob Menendez was convicted on Tuesday of all the counts he faced at his corruption trial.
The trial include accepting bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
The jury’s verdict was still being read Tuesday at a federal courthouse in New York City.
Over a nine-week trial, prosecutors said the New Jersey Democrat abused the power of his office to protect allies from criminal investigations and enrich associates, including his wife, through acts that included meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials and helping that country access millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.
Menendez did not testify, but insisted publicly he was only doing his job as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He said gold bars found in his New Jersey home by the FBI belonged to his wife.
The conviction comes four months before Election Day and potentially dooms any hope Menendez had of campaigning for reelection as an independent candidate.
Menendez announced several weeks ago that he plans to run for reelection this year as an independent.
