New Jersey senior U.S.

Senator Bob Menendez has been indicted.

Menendez and his wife are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the powerful Democratic senators influence.

The stunning bribery scheme filed in Manhattan court was made public today by federal prosecutors charging Menendez with federal bribery and corruption related offenses.

For the second time in ten years, prosecutors detailed brazen acts allegedly taken by Menendez and his wife Nadine as part of a corrupt relationship that protected three New Jersey businessmen and benefited the Egyptian government.

Federal agents allege that from 2018 to 2022, the senator and his wife received cash, gold bars, home mortgage payments, a luxury car and even exercise equipment.

The indictment alleges in return, Menendez, the chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, helped the businessman by secretly providing Egypt with sensitive U.S. government information, attempted to influence criminal investigations.

At the New Jersey attorney General's office and influence the nomination of New Jersey's U.S. attorney.

Menendez is vehemently denying the charges.

New Jersey Democrats have been largely silent on the indictment, while Republicans are calling for the senator to step down.

Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports.

Sending shockwaves across New Jersey's political landscape, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams, announced a three count indictment alleging bribery and corruption by Senator Bob Menendez.

It's the second time New Jersey's senior senators faced federal charges.

The senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Senator Menendez using his power and influence.

Williams asserts Menendez and his wife Nadine helped enrich and protect three New Jersey businessmen who were also indicted and benefited the government of Egypt, all in return for a staggering pile of loot.

Damian showed photos of gold bars worth $150,000, $60,000 Mercedes Benz and envelopes stuffed with cash just part of a breathtaking cache of alleged bribes.

Menendez reportedly traded for influence between 2018 and 2022.

The FBI searched the Menendez residence.

They discovered approximately $500,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes and closets.

Some of the cash was stuffed in the senator's jacket pockets.

Some of the cash some of the envelopes of cash contained.

DAVIES Fingerprints, David's DNA.

DAVIES is Fred DAVIES, a developer of Hudson Riverfront Properties, who last year pleaded guilty to financial crimes and is awaiting sentencing.

The indictment alleges Menendez tried to influence the president's choice of U.S. attorney in New Jersey to seat someone whom Menendez believed could be influenced to disrupt that same prosecution of DAVIES.

The indictment also accuses the senator of accepting the bench in exchange for trying to derail a criminal investigation by New Jersey's attorney general of Jose Uribe.

The second indicted businessman.

Fortunately, the public officials the senator sought to influence did not bend to the pressure.

The indictment charges a third businessman while ohana allegedly bribed Menendez to lock down Hana's monopoly certifying halal meat for Egypt.

Senator Menendez improperly pressured a senior official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect a lucrative monopoly that the government of Egypt had awarded to Hanna, a lucrative monopoly that Hanna then used to fund certain bribe payments.

But perhaps the indictments most disturbing count is that Menendez wielded his power as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit the Egyptian government.

Senator Menendez allegedly provided sensitive, nonpublic U.S. government information to Egyptian officials and otherwise took steps to secretly aid the government of Egypt.

Nadine Menendez allegedly abetted the schemes as a conduit for cash.

The indictment lays out a complex web of conspiracies to commit bribery, fraud and extortion.

And as we allege in the indictment, the senator agreed to do these things and use his power in this way because Hanna was paying bribes, because Uribe was paying bribes and because DAVIES was paying bribes.

This is Menendez's second federal indictment.

He beat corruption charges in 2017 when the trial ended in a hung jury.

In a statement, Menendez furiously denied these charges, asserting, I've been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be.

The facts are not as presented.

He added.

For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave.

There's been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists.

This indictment will roil the next election season.

Menendez is seeking a fourth term.

If he resigns, Governor Murphy will be tasked with appointing his replacement.

All of the defendants have been summoned to appear in magistrate court Wednesday morning of next week.

In Lower Manhattan, I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.