(New York) American Senator Bob Menendez, head of the very powerful Foreign Affairs Committee, is being prosecuted for corruption, the second indictment of the elected Democrat in less than 10 years, the New York prosecutor announced on Friday.
His wife Nadine Menendez is also being prosecuted.
Details of the indictment will be released at a press conference at 11 a.m.
Robert Menendez, 69, of Cuban origin and born in New York, is an old hand in Washington politics. Elected as a Democrat for New Jersey to the House of Representatives between 1993 and 2006, then to the Senate, he is one of the most influential voices on diplomatic issues in the American capital.
The elected official has already had trouble with the federal justice system.
A very rare occurrence for a senator, he was indicted for corruption in 2015 but his trial, almost completed in 2017, was canceled due to lack of a unanimous verdict from the jurors.
The following year, the Justice Department — under the presidency of Republican Donald Trump — asked a judge to drop all corruption charges against Robert Menendez.
He was accused of using his position to advance the interests of a wealthy ophthalmologist friend, businessman and Florida donor, Salomon Melgen, in exchange for gifts and campaign funding.