A VETERAN US senator has temporarily stepped down as head of the chamber’s powerful foreign relations committee as he battles bribery charges.
Justice department prosecutors allege Robert Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for aid to Egypt’s government.
The couple have denied the charges.
The embattled senator has rejected calls from fellow Democrats back in his home state of New Jersey to resign his seat.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday that Mr Menendez had decided to step down as chairman of the influential committee “until the matter has been resolved”.
The New York Democrat said his colleague was “a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey”.
It is not the first time that Mr Menendez, 69, who has served in Congress since 2006, has had to give up the coveted post on the foreign relations panel.
He also stepped down in 2015 after being indicted in New Jersey on charges that he had accepted bribes from a Florida eye doctor. That case ended in a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who took over as the committee’s leading Democrat at the time, is expected again to temporarily ascend to fill the vacancy.
Mr Menendez and his spouse, Nadine Arslanian, are accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold, payments towards a home mortgage and a luxury vehicle from three New Jersey businessmen.
Prosecutors allege the pair accepted the money to secretly aid the Egyptian government and to enrich the three men: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.
According to the 39-page indictment unsealed on Friday, Mr Menendez’s leadership position and power as a senator enabled such influence-peddling.
The pair each face three criminal counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under colour of official right.
In a statement from her lawyers, Mrs Menendez denied any wrongdoing and said she would defend herself in court.
Mr Menendez sought to portray the allegations as politically motivated.
“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” he said in a lengthy statement.
“Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists.”
“I am confident that this matter will be successfully resolved once all of the facts are presented and my fellow New Jerseyans will see this for what it is,” he added.
