1. Robert Menendez is an American lawyer, former politician, and convicted fraudster who served as a United States senator from New Jersey from 2006 until his resignation in 2024 following his conviction on 16 counts in a political corruption case.
113 Facts About Bob Menendez
1. 2.
Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison in January 2025.
3.
In 1974, at age 20, Bob Menendez was elected to the Union City School District's Board of Education.
4.
The next year, Bob Menendez won a seat in the US House of Representatives.
5.
Bob Menendez represented New Jersey's 13th congressional district from 1993 to 2006.
6.
In January 2006, Bob Menendez was appointed to fill the US Senate seat being vacated by Jon Corzine.
7.
Bob Menendez was elected to a full six-year term in November and reelected in 2012 and 2018.
8.
In 2015, Bob Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges; the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and the charges were dropped in 2018.
9.
In 2018, the United States Senate Select Committee on Ethics "severely admonished" Bob Menendez for accepting gifts from donor Salomon Melgen without obtaining committee approval, failing to disclose certain gifts, and using his position as a senator to advance Melgen's interests.
10.
In September 2023, Bob Menendez was again indicted on federal corruption charges that he aided and provided sensitive information to the government of Egypt.
11.
Bob Menendez stepped down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but refused to resign from the Senate.
12.
In October 2023, Bob Menendez was charged with conspiracy to act as a foreign agent of the Egyptian government for accepting bribes in exchange for promoting Egypt's opposition to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile and for trying to convince the US State Department to adopt Egypt's stance on this issue.
13.
Bob Menendez is the first sitting member of Congress to be convicted of conspiracy to act as a foreign agent.
14.
Bob Menendez resigned from the Senate in August and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment in January 2025.
15.
Bob Menendez was born on January 1,1954, in New York City to Cuban immigrants who had left Cuba a few months earlier, in 1953.
16.
Bob Menendez's father, Mario Menendez, was a carpenter, and his mother, Evangelina, was a seamstress.
17.
Bob Menendez attended Union Hill High School, where his speech teacher, Gail Harper, helped him develop as a public speaker.
18.
Bob Menendez became the first in his family to go to college, attending Saint Peter's College in Jersey City, where he was a member of the Lambda Theta Phi fraternity.
19.
Bob Menendez was admitted to the New Jersey bar in 1980 and became a lawyer in private practice.
20.
In November 1987, Bob Menendez was elected to represent New Jersey's 33rd district in the General Assembly.
21.
Bob Menendez held both offices until March 1991, when he moved from the Assembly to the New Jersey Senate upon winning the special election following the death of Christopher Jackman.
22.
Bob Menendez defeated New Jersey Superior Court Judge Fred J Theemling Jr.
23.
Bob Menendez, who is described as very close to Republicans on foreign policy, voted for the failed Kosovo Resolution, authorizing the use of military force against Yugoslavia in the Kosovo War.
24.
Bob Menendez was an early advocate of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities, sponsoring the Iran Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act of 1998, which passed the House but failed to pass the Senate.
25.
In 2002, Bob Menendez voted against the Iraq Resolution to authorize the invasion of Iraq.
26.
Bob Menendez voted for the PATRIOT Act in 2001, and in 2006 for its reauthorization.
27.
Bob Menendez has long been an entrenched de facto leader of the Hudson County Democratic machine.
28.
In January 2006, Governor Jon Corzine appointed Bob Menendez to fill the remaining year in Corzine's Senate term, from which Corzine resigned after being elected governor of New Jersey two months before.
29.
Corzine's decision to appoint Bob Menendez got the support of several Latino groups, including the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
30.
Bob Menendez was the sixth Latino to serve in the United States Senate.
31.
When incumbent US Senator Bill Bradley decided to retire in August 1995, Bob Menendez made known his intention to run in the 1996 election for the seat, but eventually dropped out of the race and endorsed Robert Torricelli, the Democrat representing New Jersey's 9th congressional district.
32.
Similarly, in 1999, when the state's other US Senator, Frank Lautenberg, announced his planned retirement, Bob Menendez again decided not to run, with the Democratic nomination for the 2000 race going to Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine, who won the general election.
33.
Bob Menendez was endorsed by several newspapers including The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Star-Ledger, and The Record.
34.
In January 2024, Bob Menendez was charged with corruption for promoting the interests of Qatar while receiving various illicit gifts such as cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes-Benz automobile.
35.
Bob Menendez did not rule out running as an independent.
36.
Bob Menendez told the Associated Press that despite running as an independent he would not leave the Democratic Party.
37.
On January 6,2021, Bob Menendez was participating in the certification of the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count when Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol.
38.
Bob Menendez called the attack "anarchy" and "a sad day for our democracy".
39.
Bob Menendez blamed Trump and Republicans who supported Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud for inciting the attack.
40.
Bob Menendez called for an investigation into white supremacy in the military.
41.
Bob Menendez is an "aggressive advocate" of immigration reform, calling it the "civil rights issue of our time".
42.
Bob Menendez has introduced multiple pieces of legislation in attempts to overhaul what he calls our "failed immigration system".
43.
Bob Menendez introduced the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2011, but it died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
44.
Bob Menendez supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006 and Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007, voting for both bills.
45.
Bob Menendez voted against Senate Amendment 1151, declaring English the national language of the Federal government of the United States.
46.
Bob Menendez voted to continue federal funding for declared "sanctuary cities".
47.
On January 28,2013, Bob Menendez was a member of a bipartisan group of eight senators that announced principles for comprehensive immigration reform.
48.
Bob Menendez introduced legislation that would incentivize the conversion of vehicles to run on natural gas; the bill did not make it out of committee in its first incarnation and failed to receive 60 votes required to pass in 2012.
49.
In June 2019, Bob Menendez was one of 44 senators to introduce the International Climate Accountability Act, legislation that would prevent President Trump from using funds in an attempt to withdraw from the Paris Agreement and directing the Trump administration to develop instead a strategic plan for the United States that would allow it to meet its commitment under the Paris Agreement.
50.
Bob Menendez sponsored the Student Non-Discrimination Act, expanding Title IX of the Education Amendments Act to LGBT students, and the Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2011, which would amend the Higher Education Act of 1965.
51.
Bob Menendez voted for the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr.
52.
Bob Menendez voted for the Defense of Marriage Act as a congressman in 1996; on December 18,2011, he came out in support of, and co-sponsored, the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal DOMA.
53.
Bob Menendez voted for the US military's Don't ask, don't tell as a congressman, and co-sponsored the DADT repeal act in 2010.
54.
In 1999, Bob Menendez voted against a proposed amendment that would have banned adoption in Washington DC by same-sex couples and other persons not related by blood or marriage.
55.
In January 2019, Bob Menendez was one of 40 senators to introduce the Background Check Expansion Act, a bill that would require background checks for either the sale or transfer of all firearms, including all unlicensed sellers.
56.
In June 2019, Bob Menendez was one of four senators to cosponsor the Help Empower Americans to Respond Act, legislation that would ban suppressors being imported, sold, made, sent elsewhere, or possessed and grant a silencer buyback program as well as include certain exceptions for current and former law enforcement personnel and others.
57.
In December 2018, Bob Menendez was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar, Seema Verma, and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to authorize states to "increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions".
58.
Bob Menendez holds that the success of America's foreign policy is "inextricably linked to the health of her domestic democracy", stating in the January 19,2021, confirmation hearings of Secretary-designate Antony Blinken that public servants and senators have a "duty to stand up for democracy, for the constitution, and for the rule of law".
59.
Bob Menendez identified chief concerns as "rebuilding alliances, restoring American leadership in international institutions, and addressing complex global challenges like climate change, migration, pandemics like COVID-19".
60.
Bob Menendez identifies the "core American values" as "democracy, human rights, and the rule of law", upon which foreign policy should be recentered.
61.
In February 2006, Bob Menendez cosponsored legislation with Senator Hillary Clinton to make it illegal for foreign governments to buy US port operations.
62.
Bob Menendez said that the Cuban government believed Menendez and Representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Lincoln Diaz-Balart were receiving illicit payments from such organizations, and that it wanted to identify the source of the payments in order to "expose and humiliate" the three Congress members.
63.
In October 2009, Bob Menendez sent a strongly worded letter of protest to Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias, criticizing him for his praise of the Cuban government.
64.
In December 2010, Bob Menendez voted for the ratification of New Start, a nuclear arms reduction treaty between the US and the Russian Federation obliging both countries to have no more than 1,550 strategic warheads or 700 launchers deployed during the next seven years along with providing a continuation of on-site inspections that halted when START I expired the previous year.
65.
In 2018, Bob Menendez urged Vice President Mike Pence to enter talks with Ecuador about withdrawing its asylum for Julian Assange.
66.
Bob Menendez's letter, signed by nine other senators, alleged that it was Assange's goal to "undermine democratic processes globally".
67.
In March 2018, Bob Menendez voted against Bernie Sanders's and Chris Murphy's resolution that would end US support for the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.
68.
In January 2019, Bob Menendez opposed Trump's planned withdrawal of US troops from Syria and Afghanistan as a threat to US national security.
69.
In June 2019, Bob Menendez called for the immediate release of Ukrainian journalist Stanislav Aseyev, who was being held in custody by militants from the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.
70.
In October 2019, Bob Menendez stated his opposition to the Turkish invasion of the Kurdish areas in Syria.
71.
Bob Menendez called for the Trump administration to immediately suspend US military aid to Azerbaijan, sent through Pentagon's "building partner assistance program".
72.
In September 2022, during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, Bob Menendez criticized the Biden administration for hesitating to impose sanctions on the governments of Sudan and Ethiopia, where many atrocities and war crimes were committed in the Tigray War.
73.
Bob Menendez became chair of the Foreign Relations Committee after John Kerry's confirmation as Secretary of State in January 2013.
74.
On September 28,2006, Bob Menendez voted for the Military Commissions Act.
75.
On June 12,2007, Bob Menendez endorsed Hillary Clinton for president and was given the position of National Campaign Co-Chair.
76.
Bob Menendez made numerous media appearances in support of her campaign.
77.
In 2009, Bob Menendez succeeded Senator Chuck Schumer of New York as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
78.
Critics of Bob Menendez pointed out the surprising Democratic loss in the 2010 Massachusetts Senate special election that followed the death of Ted Kennedy; Bob Menendez's lower-key, more cautious management style; and problems caused by retirements in Indiana and elsewhere.
79.
Bob Menendez said he was surprised that a group claiming to be true to the Constitution was trying, in his words, "to undermine it".
80.
In 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bob Menendez had written to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, asking him to approve an acquisition that would rescue from the prospect of receivership a New Jersey bank, First Bank Americano, operated by Bob Menendez donors.
81.
An aide to Bob Menendez said that political contributions did not influence his decision to write the letter.
82.
On January 5,2012, Bob Menendez blocked Judge Patty Shwartz, an Obama administration nominee, to a federal judgeship, drawing speculation that the block was placed because of Shwartz's relationship with the head of the public corruption unit for New Jersey's federal prosecutor, who had investigated Bob Menendez during his 2006 campaign.
83.
Bob Menendez has long contended that the corruption investigation was politically motivated.
84.
Bob Menendez denied knowing about the allegation of the directive to delay the arrest and only recently learned of the arrest.
85.
In May 2014, Bob Menendez received an award for Political Courage at a gala organized by the American Friends of Likud, where he reaffirmed the strong alliance between the US and Israel and said, "several thousands of years of history lead to an undeniable conclusion: the reestablishment of the State of Israel in modern times is a political reality with roots going back to the time of Abraham and Sarah and historical texts and artifacts".
86.
Bob Menendez became an outspoken advocate of the People's Mujahedin of Iran after it was delisted.
87.
Bob Menendez spearheaded a nonbinding resolution in July 2018 "warning President Trump not to let the Russian government question diplomats and other officials".
88.
Bob Menendez has pushed for a complete tax deduction for state and local taxes.
89.
In November 2012, the conservative political news and opinion website Daily Caller published allegations that Bob Menendez had contact with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.
90.
The allegations were promoted by Republican Party operatives, who arranged for ABC News and the Daily Caller to interview two women who accused Bob Menendez of patronizing prostitutes.
91.
One accuser stated that she had been paid to falsely implicate Bob Menendez and had never met him.
92.
Bob Menendez's office called the allegations "manufactured" by a "right-wing blog" as a politically motivated smear.
93.
Bob Menendez helped the agency win designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center in 1998.
94.
Bob Menendez allies said that the organization in question, the North Hudson Community Action Corp.
95.
Bob Menendez said that he rented the property out below market value because "he was supportive of its work".
96.
The sentencing of Bob Menendez marked a significant fall from grace for the once-powerful politician.
97.
The corruption scheme involved Bob Menendez accepting over $100,000 in gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and more than $480,000 in cash hidden in various locations.
98.
Prosecutors argued that Bob Menendez used his position to push for US military aid to Egypt and share nonpublic information with Egyptian officials.
99.
The charges against Bob Menendez included bribery, fraud, and making false statements.
100.
Prosecutors charged that Bob Menendez acted as Melgen's "personal senator", helping obtain visas for several of Melgen's girlfriends.
101.
Bob Menendez's trial began on September 6,2017, before Judge William H Walls of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
102.
One of the allegations was that Bob Menendez "provided sensitive US Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt".
103.
On October13,2023, prosecutors filed new charges that Bob Menendez "provided sensitive US Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt" and failed to register as an agent of a foreign power for over four years.
104.
In exchange, Bob Menendez allegedly received gifts including cash, gold, designer watches, and Formula One tickets.
105.
Agents testified about a search they performed of a safe deposit box in New Jersey Nadine Bob Menendez used, in which they found $80,000 in cash.
106.
The defense noted that Bob Menendez himself had never accessed the safety deposit box.
107.
On January 29,2025, Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison, however his sentence will not start until June 6,2025, so he can attend his wife's trial in March.
108.
Bob Menendez received the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III from President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades for "his contribution to promoting human rights, the rule of law, and democracy".
109.
In 1976, Bob Menendez married Jane Jacobsen, a teacher for the Union City Board of Education and Union City Public Schools.
110.
Later, Bob Menendez dated Gwendolyn Beck, an author who later ran for Congress.
111.
In December 2013, Bob Menendez proposed to his girlfriend, Alicia Mucci, in the Capitol rotunda.
112.
Bob Menendez began a relationship with Nadine Arslanian in 2018.
113.
Bob Menendez has two children from a prior marriage, and was divorced in 2005.