Sen. Bob Menendez’s defense against new federal corruption charges against him, his wife and business partners Friday showed him taking the same defiant attitude he had when he faced federal charges nearly a decade ago.

Menendez, a three-term senator who has served at every level in New Jersey’s rugged political landscape, vowed to fight the latest round of charges and questioned the veracity of the charges.

In much the same language he used in 2017 after a mistrial on federal corruption charges, he couched the indictment in political terms on Friday and vowed to continue his work in the Senate.

For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly tried to silence my voice and dig my political grave, Menendez said in a statement. It was an echo of six years earlier, when he addressed those digging my political grave and told them he would not forget who they were.

It’s a sign, say those who know Menendez, that he isn’t going anywhere without a fight anytime soon.

Senator Menendez will have to decide what is best for him and his family. He’s a fighter. “I’ve never met anyone as tough as him,” Steve Sweeney, the former Democratic Senate chairman, said in a telephone interview. We could all say: leave. It’s not our decision and it wouldn’t be fair. to tell someone to leave if they feel they have done nothing wrong.

Menendez, 69, has survived politics for nearly five decades.

The son of Cuban immigrants and a lawyer by training, he was a Union City,

NJ,New Jersey,

served on the school board at age 20 before graduating from law school and becoming mayor of the city, where he still has deep roots.

His own biography touts the fact that early in his political career he wanted to fight corruption, testify against Union City officials and build an equally tough reputation. From there, he was elected to the State Assembly and then the Senate before heading to the U.S. House.

Menendez was appointed U.S. senator in 2006 when the seat became vacant after incumbent Jon Corzine became governor. He was directly elected in 2006 and again in 2012 and 2018. From 2013 he chaired the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but lost that post after the previous indictment. He regained the position after federal prosecutors failed to renew charges in that case, which ended in a mistrial.

The 2018 contest was notable because it came just after the 2017 mistrial and the Republican Party had poured millions into defeating him. He prevailed and did not hint at retirement.

People have consistently underestimated Bob Menendez throughout his career and are almost always surprised at the end when he emerges victorious, says Benjamin Dworkin, director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship.

Menendez, whose wife, Nadine, was also charged in Friday’s indictment, married in 2020. The couple began dating in 2018 and became engaged in 2019 after meeting at an IHOP in Union City, a frequent haunt of Menendez.

He has two children from a previous relationship: daughter Alicia Menendez, a television news anchor and author, and son Rob Menendez, who was elected to Congress last year. In a statement, Rob Menendez supported his father and said he believes in his father’s integrity and values.

In Congress, Menendez has been an outspoken advocate for overhauling the immigration system, securing abortion rights and supporting key Biden administration policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act of 2021.

His left-wing politics make him a good fit for New Jersey, which has done the same

well more than

1 million more registered Democrats than former Republicans

stands

Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg said that is a big factor in his remaining power. Moreover, he has been active in public life for decades, people know him and support him, she said.

But she sounded

a

cautious about his political prospects.

I think it sounds very serious. I think serious decisions will be made. “I think it is imperative that serious decisions are made about how the party is going to handle all this,” she said.

Messages seeking comment from the governor and party spokespeople were not immediately returned Friday.

The first time Menendez was charged, authorities said he used his political influence to help a Florida ophthalmologist, who gave him lavish gifts and campaign contributions.

He was accused of pressuring officials to resolve a Medicare billing dispute in favor of his friend Dr. Salomon Melgen, who arranged visas for the doctor’s girlfriends and helped protect a contract for the doctor to supply port screening equipment to the Dominican Republic. He then declared his innocence and was not charged again after a jury deadlocked in 2017.

The new set of indictments unsealed Friday allege that Menendez repeatedly took action in favor of Egypt despite the US. The administration is concerned about the country’s human rights record, including writing a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to raise $300 million in aid to Egypt, and passing on non-public information to Egyptian officials on military issues, the indictment said.

He is also accused of trying to derail the criminal case against one of the businessmen pushing for the appointment of Philip R. Sellinger as U.S. attorney for New Jersey. Menendez believed he could influence Sellinger, prosecutors said, and also tried to use his position of power to interfere with a separate investigation by the New Jersey attorney general’s office.