Sen. Bob Menendez, a powerful New Jersey Democrat who escaped conviction on 2015 corruption charges, is under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, according to multiple news reports.
Prosecutors have reportedly reached out to people close to Menendez, according to Semafor, which cited two sources close to the probe.
Menendez has been notified of the investigation but is not aware of its scope, said Michael Soliman, an adviser to the senator. Menendez, who chairs the influential Senate Foreign Affairs Committee and has served in the Senate since 2006, is up for reelection in 2024.
“As always, should any official inquiries be made, the Senator is available to provide any assistance that is requested of him or his office,” Soliman said in a statement shared with several news outlets. Neither Menendez nor Southern District of New York prosecutors commented to Semafor.
Antranig “Andy” Aslanian Jr., a New Jersey-based lawyer, told The New York Times he was subpoenaed in the investigation and was questioned by three prosecutors over two months ago.
Aslanian said the interview included questions about the senator’s relationship with people Aslanian also knew. The lawyer told the Times he knew of at least two other people subpoenaed in this investigation.
The broad outlines of the probe appear similar to an earlier corruption case against Menendez, but involve different people, Semafor reported.
In 2015, Menendez was indicted on 14 charges, including public corruption, alleging he accepted donations, gifts and expensive holidays from a Florida ophthalmologist in exchange for using his power to push the doctor’s interests. The senator denied wrongdoing.
Dr. Salomon Melgen also was indicted. The case resulted in a mistrial in 2017 after the jury could not reach a verdict. A federal judge acquitted the two of several charges in 2018, and the Justice Department decided to drop the case.
Separately, Melgen was convicted on medical fraud charges in 2017 and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Former President Donald Trump commuted his sentence in 2021.