On Monday, Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife pleaded not guilty to new charges over allegations they accepted bribes.
Earlier this month, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were hit with one dozen new criminal charges including obstruction of justice and bribery charges. (RELATED: Senator Menendez Faces 12 New Federal Charges)
“Once again, not guilty your honor,” Menendez said after Judge Sidney H. Stein asked him to enter a plea, according to the Associated Press.
Menendez now faces 16 counts and his wife, Nadine, faces 15 counts. The slew of new charges followed the recent guilty plea of their co-defendant, businessman Jose Uribe.
He previously told The Hill in a statement through his lawyers that the latest indictment is a “flagrant abuse of power” and maintained his innocence.
Federal authorities indicted the New Jersey Senator in September. Menendez stepped down from his position as chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations shortly after the indictment but has refused to resign from the Upper Chamber.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York allege Menendez “secretly aided” and provided sensitive U.S. government information to Egypt, marking the first time a sitting U.S. senator has been accused of working on behalf of another country.
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