to pocketing bribes – including cash and $100,000 in gold bars.
Magistrate Judge Ona Wang ordered him to surrender any personal passports, but said the senator could still travel outside the US for official government purposes while his case is pending. Two of the businessmen charged in the case – Jose Uribe, 56, and Fred Daibes, 66 – also appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded not guilty. Uribe and Daibes were released on bonds of $1 million and $2 million, respectively.and was released on $5 million bond.
More than half of Senate Democrats have now said that Menendez should quit, including fellow New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, who said the federal indictment includes ”shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing.” “For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” he told reporters at a news conference.