Sen. Bob Menendez's bribery trial verdict, and the charges he was found guilty of
Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was convicted Tuesday on all counts in a federal bribery trial that involved three New Jersey businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Menendez was charged with 16 counts in the 18-count indictment that alleged the longtime politician was engaged in a wide-ranging corruption scheme in which he promised to aid Egypt in various ways and tried to pressure a top Department of Agriculture official to protect a monopoly the country awarded to a halal certification startup owned by Wael Hana, who was on trial with the senator.
He was also accused of disrupting criminal investigations by the New Jersey attorney general's office into former insurance broker Jose Uribe, who pleaded guilty to trying to bribe Menendez by buying his wife, Nadine Menendez, a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible.
Menendez also tried to interfere in a federal prosecution of real estate developer Fred Daibes, a codefendant in the trial, while helping him land a lucrative investment deal with Qatar, according to prosecutors.
Finally, prosecutors alleged, Menendez sought to conceal some of the bribe payments by characterizing them as loans.
Menendez said he was "deeply disappointed" by the verdict and plans to appeal.
Here is a look at each of the charges in the case:
Count 1: Conspiracy to commit bribery
This offense is related to the Egypt part of the scheme, as well as the federal bank fraud prosecution of Daibes and the Qatar elements.
Menendez was found guilty of conspiracy to commit bribery. Hana and Daibes were found guilty.
Count 2: Conspiracy to commit honest services fraud
The count involves every element of the alleged corruption scheme — Egypt, interference in the criminal cases and Qatar.
Menendez was found guilty of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. Hana and Daibes were found guilty.
Count 3: Conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right
It also relates to the entire scheme.
Menendez was found guilty of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Hana and Daibes were not charged with this offense.
Count 4: Conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice
The count involves Menendez's alleged efforts to disrupt a federal bank fraud case against Daibes.
Menendez was found guilty of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice. Daibes was found guilty. Hana was not charged with this offense.
Count 5: Bribery
The charge alleges Menendez received bribes from Hana and Daibes in exchange for taking actions to benefit Hana's halal certification monopoly and Egypt, including pressuring a Department of Agriculture official and promising to approve military aid to Egypt.
Menendez was found guilty of bribery. Hana and Daibes were charged under a separate count.
Count 6: Bribery
It alleges Hana and Daibes offered and gave bribes to Menendez and his wife, including cash, gold bars, mortgage payments to save Nadine Menendez's home from foreclosure and a "low-or-no-show" job that paid her tens of thousands of dollars.
Hana and Daibes were found guilty of bribery. Menendez was not included in this count.
Count 7: Honest services wire fraud
The charge is connected to actions Menendez took to allegedly benefit Hana and Egypt while receiving things of value from Hana and Daibes.
Menendez was found guilty of honest services wire fraud. Hana and Daibes were found guilty.
Count 8: Extortion under color of official right
The charge is also connected to actions Menendez took to allegedly benefit Hana and Egypt while receiving things of value from Hana and Daibes.
Menendez was found guilty of extortion under color of official right. Hana and Daibes were not charged.
Count 9: Honest services wire fraud
It relates to Menendez's alleged promise to disrupt the New Jersey attorney general's prosecution and investigation of Uribe's business associates in exchange for a Mercedes.
Menendez was found guilty of honest services wire fraud. Hana was found guilty. Daibes was not included.
Count 10: Extortion under color of official right
The charge relates to Menendez's alleged attempts to interfere in criminal cases involving Uribe's business associates in exchange for a Mercedes.
Menendez was found guilty of extortion under color of official right. Hana and Daibes were not charged.
Count 11: Bribery
The charge alleges Daibes gave Menendez and his wife gold bars and thousands of dollars in cash. In return, Menendez allegedly tried to use his influence to nominate a federal prosecutor who he thought could make a bank fraud case against Daibes go away. Menendez also made public statements in support of Qatar and introduced Daibes to a member of the Qatari royal family who invested in his real estate project.
Menendez was found guilty of bribery. Daibes was charged in a separate count. Hana was not included.
Count 12: Bribery
This charge includes the same allegations as the previous count.
Daibes was found guilty of bribery. Menendez was charged in a separate count. Hana was not included.
Count 13: Honest services wire fraud
The charge involves Menendez's actions that allegedly benefited Daibes and Qatar.
Menendez was found guilty of honest services wire fraud. Daibes was found guilty. Hana was not included on this count.
Count 14: Extortion under color of official right
The charge also relates Menendez's actions that allegedly benefited Daibes and Qatar.
Menendez was found guilty of extortion under color of official right. Hana and Daibes were not charged.
Count 15: Conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent
This count relates to Menendez's actions toward Egypt, including ghostwriting a letter on behalf of Egypt to lobby his Senate colleagues to release aid to the country and providing it with details about U.S. Embassy employees in Cairo.
Menendez was found guilty of conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent. Hana was found guilty. Daibes was not charged with this offense.
Count 16: Public official acting as a foreign agent
This count also stems from Menendez's actions toward Egypt.
Menendez was found guilty of acting as a foreign agent while being a public official. Hana and Daibes, who are not public officials, were not indicted on this offense.
Count 17: Conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice
The count relates to Menendez writing his wife checks to pay back Hana for $23,000 in mortgage payments and $21,000 to Uribe for car payments after they learned they were under investigation.
Menendez was found guilty of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice. Hana and Daibes were not included on this count.
Count 18: Obstruction of justice
The charge is also based on the checks Menendez wrote to his wife to pay back Hana and Uribe.
Menendez was found guilty of obstruction of justice. Hana and Daibes were not charged with this count.
