Federal prosecutors accused powerful US Senator Robert Menendez of doing some bad things. They say he used his important job to help some people and the Egyptian government, but in return, he got a lot of money and gifts, like gold bars and a fancy car.
They found lots of money hidden in his house, even in his jackets with his name on them. They also found gold bars worth $150,000 and a luxury car that was a gift from one of the businessmen he helped.
Prosecutors say they have proof that when Menendez got the gold bars, he looked up how much they were worth on Google.
Menendez, his wife, and two businessmen were charged with doing illegal stuff to get money and gifts. Menendez and his wife were also charged with doing something bad to get more money.
Menendez is accused of using his job to help his wife get control over a special kind of meat export to Egypt, even though she didn’t know much about it. He gave up his important job on a committee related to foreign affairs after he was accused.
Menendez says the accusations are not true and are meant to hurt him and his wife. Some other Democrats want him to step down too, and if he’s found guilty, he could go to prison for up to 20 years.
Image Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/22/robert-menendez-democrats-quit-senate