Get Rich and Spy Tryin’: FBI Investigating Intelligence Role in Menendez Bribery Case

FBI officials are examining whether Egypt was using the powerful US senator as an unwitting intelligence asset, and potentially opening him up to the threat of blackmail.

The charges of alleged bribery against New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez made for sensational headlines, with accusations of gold bars and wads of cash being discovered at the politician’s home. Now, speculation he was being manipulated by Egyptian intelligence threatens to further disgrace the senator.

The story was reported Wednesday by US media outlets which spoke with various figures from the CIA and FBI.

“Reading the indictment, it certainly appears like the Egyptian government was using a classic source-recruitment pattern to get Menendez and his wife to spy for them,” said former CIA analyst Michael van Landingham.

Among the intel shared by Menendez that would’ve been most attractive to Egyptian intelligence officials were details about staff working at the US embassy in Cairo. Though such information is not officially classified, it’s generally unknown to the public. Gathering such information is one way foreign operatives gauge whether a figure is open to working with them.

From there, requests for information may increase in scale, with cash and other gifts exchanging hands.

"Senator Menendez's chairmanship of foreign relations puts him in a bull's eye position for foreign intelligence services that are looking to have him make decisions in their favor, including military equipment and materiel decisions on funding," said former FBI Counterintelligence Chief Frank Figliuzzi.

Currently, the senator is only being prosecuted on bribery charges. The potential connections to Egyptian intelligence suggest the country’s government may have a greater interest in spying within the United States than previously known.

Menendez and his wife were indicted last week on charges relating to alleged acceptance of bribes from three New Jersey businessmen.

The New Jersey lawmaker is alleged to have used his position as head of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to influence the channeling of aid directed towards Egypt. He has denied the charges.

Menendez entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday as he appeared before a federal court in New York City’s lower Manhattan.

“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” Menendez earlier said in a Friday 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.”

“​​The excesses of these prosecutors is apparent. They have misrepresented the normal work of a Congressional office. On top of that, not content with making false claims against me, they have attacked my wife for the longstanding friendships she had before she and I even met.”

The senator was previously indicted on federal corruption charges in 2015, making similar claims of a vast conspiracy against him. The allegations were eventually dropped. The son of Cuban immigrants, he’s known for his hard line against Cuba’s communist-led government.