Senator Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine, pleaded not guilty to new obstruction of justice charges in a New York federal court on Monday. The charges were part of a rewritten indictment against the Democrat senator.
Judge Sidney H. Stein asked Menendez to enter a plea, and Menendez responded, “Once again, not guilty your honor.” The couple had previously pleaded not guilty to charges in October.
The indictment accuses the Menendezes of conspiring with three businessmen to accept bribes in the form of gold bars, cash, and a luxury car in exchange for the senator’s assistance with projects pursued by the businessmen. Two of the three alleged co-conspirators also pleaded not guilty on Monday, while the third, Jose Uribe, had already pleaded guilty to bribery charges and agreed to testify against the others at a trial set for May 6.
According to the new allegations, Menendez instructed his lawyer to falsely tell prosecutors that he was unaware one of his business associates had helped his wife make a $23,000 mortgage payment on their New Jersey home. Nadine Menendez is accused of having her lawyer tell prosecutors in August that the mortgage payment and funds provided by Uribe for a Mercedes-Benz were loans, despite knowing they were bribes.
In a statement last week, Menendez maintained that prosecutors have “long known that I learned of and helped repay loans — not bribes — that had been provided to my wife.”
Following his arrest last fall, the 70-year-old senator was required to give up his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but stated he would not resign from Congress.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.