Sen. Bob Menendez enters not guilty plea in bribery case in federal court in Manhattan

Less than a week after his second indictment in a decade, Sen. Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty to bribery allegations.

Menendez entered his plea late Wednesday morning in a federal courtroom in Manhattan. He and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, arrived at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse shortly after 8 a.m. The couple held hands as they pushed their way forward through a gaggle of press and photographers. In the distance, a bystander yelled "Resign!"

Before the hearing, Menendez declined to answer a reporter's question as he waited in a corridor with his wife and his attorneys.

New Jersey's senior senator faces corruption charges, brought by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three Garden State businessmen in exchange for helping them enrich themselves and trying to get them out of trouble, according to an indictment unsealed in New York.

What does the indictment say?

The three-count indictment alleged that Menendez, his wife, and the three businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes — were part of a bribery scheme.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, Uribe and Daibes also pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. Hana entered a not guilty plea Tuesday.

The indictment alleges that between 2018 and 2022, Menendez, who until Friday served as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife “engaged in a corrupt relationship with Hana, Uribe and Daibes” to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Menendez using his “power and influence to protect, to enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.”

Bribes allegedly included cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low- or no-show job and a Mercedes-Benz — much of which is detailed in photographs in the 39-page indictment.

Defendants released

Menendez arrived at the courthouse several hours before the hearing began. He held his wife’s hand and had to wait in a hallway for several minutes before being taken upstairs for processing. All of the defendants were fingerprinted and had mug shots taken, according to the U.S. marshals at the courthouse.

The senator appeared quiet and pensive during the proceedings. He wore a gray-blue suit with a white shirt and blue tie. Nadine Arslanian Menendez was dressed in a white blouse and black pants with her hair in a ponytail. Lawyers spoke on their behalf in the courtroom.

Daibes was sporting a gray goatee and wore a black suit with a white shirt and no tie. Uribe wore a gray suit. Both spoke up and entered their own not guilty pleas.

There were several Menendez staffers on hand, and the proceedings were open to the public. At least one protester lingered outside with a sign that read “Senator Mob Menendez.”

After entering their pleas, Menendez, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, Uribe and Daibes were released.

Menendez was released on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond and was required to surrender his personal passport, though not his official government passport. He can travel abroad with permission from the court.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez was released on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond secured by her house in Englewood Cliffs. She can travel only in New Jersey, parts of New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.

Uribe was released on a $1 million personal recognizance bond secured by his residence in Clifton and is restricted to New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania and New York.

Daibes was released on a $2 million personal recognizance bond secured by his property at 500 Route 340 in Sparkill, New York, and is restricted to New Jersey and parts of Florida and New York. His $10 million recognizance bond in the New Jersey case will transfer to the federal case if he is exonerated.

With the exception of the senator and his wife, all were ordered not to contact one another.

U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein scheduled a conference in the case Monday at 2:30 p.m. for all five defendants.

After the hearings concluded, the Menendezes, Daibes and Uribe left the courthouse without answering questions from the press.

Calls for resignation continue to mount

The chorus calling for Menendez's resignation continues to grow. On Tuesday, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said that since Menendez denies the allegations, it is “understandable that he believes stepping down is patently unfair" but that he sees that as a mistake and believes “stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving.”

Booker stood by Menendez when he was indicted in 2015. Menendez denies the current allegations, saying Monday that the "allegations leveled against me are just that," saying this "will be the biggest fight yet" but that he “firmly believes that when all the facts are presented” he will be exonerated.

Gov. Phil Murphy and other New Jersey Democrats have called on Menendez to step down — in stark contrast to the support Menendez received from most Democrats during his earlier corruption case..

Can he shore up his base?: Will NJ Latinos rally around Sen. Menendez? Why some leaders are staying on the sidelines

Donations up in the air What are NJ politicians doing with campaign cash they received from Menendez, Daibes?

Other Democratic senators calling on Menendez to resign include John Fetterman and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Peter Welch of Vermont, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jon Tester of Montana and Jacky Rosen of Nevada.

Members of the state's congressional delegation have also issued statements calling for Menendez to resign, including Rep. Mikie Sherrill, Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., Rep. Frank Pallone and Rep. Andy Kim. Menendez is up for reelection next year, and Kim has said he will challenge Menendez in the Democratic primary.

Staff Writer Mike Kelly contributed to this article.

Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bob Menendez enters not guilty plea in bribery case in indictment