Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years

Former Sen. Bob Menendez after sentencing

Menendez is the first US official ever 'convicted of acting as a foreign agent'

(Image credit: Yuki Iwamura / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 30 January 2025

What happened

Former Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) was sentenced to 11 years in prison yesterday for bribery and acting as an unregistered agent of Egypt, among other charges. He resigned in August after being found guilty on 16 felony counts.

"You stood at the apex of our political system," U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein told Menendez, 71, in a Manhattan courtroom. But "you lost your way, and working for the public good became working for your good." Prosecutors said Menendez brazenly accepted "bribes totaling nearly $1 million in cash, checks, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz," The Washington Post said. He's the first U.S. official ever "convicted of acting as a foreign agent."

In what "appeared to be a direct appeal" to President Donald Trump, The New York Times said, Menendez told reporters outside the courtroom he was the victim of a "political witch hunt" and hoped "President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system." Trump yesterday celebrated his Justice Department dropping its "witch hunt" prosecution of Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Kansas). And Trump appointees are in discussion with Manhattan federal prosecutors about dropping the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a new Trump ally, the Times reported.

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.