Former senator Bob Menendez banned from holding public office in New Jersey

Former US senator Bob Menendez has been permanently disqualified from seeking or holding public office in his home state of New Jersey after being convicted of federal corruption charges, according to officials.

An order on Friday from New Jersey superior court judge Robert Lougy banned Menendez from “any position of honor, trust, or profit in state or local government”, the state’s attorney general, Matt Platkin, said in a statement. Menendez would face a fourth-degree charge of contempt of court if he “applies for public office or employment or takes any steps to campaign, run for or be appointed” to such a post, Platkin’s statement also said.

“Critical to preserving the public’s faith and trust in government institutions is ensuring that elected officials who commit crimes involving their offices don’t find new opportunities to regain positions of power,” Platkin added. “Too many people in New Jersey have a cynical viewpoint that corruption is a routine, widespread feature of our politics. We hope the court’s decision sends a message that it is not acceptable and it will carry consequences.”

Menendez in June began serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The crimes for which the New Jersey Democrat was convicted earned him the derisive nickname “Gold Bar Bob”, his own attorney once said.

He resigned from the US Senate in August 2024, about a month after a jury convicted him of selling his political clout for bribes.

Prosecutors said Menendez protected New Jersey business owners who bribed him from criminal investigations. He aided them in business deals with foreign countries – and met with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping Egypt secure $300m in US military assistance.

At one point, FBI agents investigating Menendez – who had been a US senator since 2006 – alleged finding $480,000 in cash in his home, including inside boots and jacket pockets. There was also $150,000 in gold bars there as well as a luxury convertible in the home’s garage.

Menendez’s wife, Nadine, was herself convicted of selling her husband’s influence for cash, gold bars and a fancy car. She was sentenced in September to four and a half years in prison.

Bob Menendez has maintained his innocence. The 71-year-old reported to prison the week after a federal appeals court rejected his request to remain free on bail while he sought to overturn his bribery conviction.

He also seems to be holding out hope for a pardon from Donald Trump, echoing the Republican president’s criticisms of the court system in the US.

“This process is political and it’s corrupted to the core,” Menendez said to reporters after learning the length of his prison sentence in January. “I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores … integrity to the system.”

Menendez was once chair of the Senate committee on foreign relations. The son of Cuban immigrants attained that position after embarking on a political career that began on the Union City, New Jersey, board of education in 1974.

He was also the Union City mayor, a New Jersey state assembly member and a US House representative.

The Associated Press contributed reporting