BREAKING: Senate Democrat Bob Menendez Found Guilty in Foreign Bribery Trial

Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), formerly the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was found guilty in his foreign bribery trial on Tuesday afternoon.

He faced 18 counts on various charges including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, and acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. He was found guilty of all of them on Tuesday.

Menendez was the subject of a shocking Department of Justice indictment last year in which he was accused of accepting gold bars and approximately half a million dollars in exchange for his efforts to influence criminal investigations as well as to use his influential post to benefit Egypt. A superseding indictment this January also alleged that Menendez accepted race car tickets and expensive watches to promote the interests of the Qatari government.

The senior senator from New Jersey stepped down from his post on the Foreign Relations Committee after being indicted last year, but refused to leave the upper chamber of Congress.

He has launched an independent bid for Senate earlier this year after it became clear that he would lose the Democratic nomination if he sought reelection in that capacity, although it’s been reported that his campaign is mostly a way to raise money to pay for his legal costs.

“Senator Bob Menendez and his co-defendants were found guilty across the board in all of these charges,” reported CNN’s Kara Scannell from outside the courthouse where Menendez was tried on Tuesday.

“Absolutely extraordinary that we have this United States senator, senior senator, who has had a lot of power now being found guilty, as you said, on 18 counts of corruption, using that position that he has, elected by the people of New Jersey, according to this jury, to sell his office to foreign powers and also to corrupt business people,” marveled Dana Bash . “Really remarkable.”

Watch above via CNN.