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The Justice Department is expected to bring criminal charges against Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., for allegedly using his office to help a Democratic donor in exchange for gifts.
Menendez would be the 12th U.S. senator indicted since the 1800s, according to the Senate Historical Office. Four senators were convicted and two had their convictions overturned. A look at some recent cases:
In this Nov. 18, 2008, file photo, Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, is pursued by members of the media on Capitol Hill. (Gerald Herbert, AP)
[h=5]Ted Stevens[/h]Stevens, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, was indicted in 2008 on seven counts of failing to report $250,000 in gifts and services from an oil company that helped renovate his home. Prosecutors said the Alaska senator concealed a new first floor, garage, wraparound deck, plumbing, electrical wiring, Viking gas grill, furniture and tools. The combative senator, known to Alaskans as “Uncle Ted,” was convicted in 2008. A federal judge dismissed Stevens’ conviction in 2009 because of prosecutorial misconduct. Stevens died in a 2010 plane crash in southwest Alaska at the age of 86.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, meets reporters in her Capitol Hill office on Sept. 27, 1993. (John Duricka, AP)
[h=5]Kay Bailey Hutchison[/h]Shortly after she took office in 1993, Hutchison was indicted on charges of official misconduct and tampering with government records while she was Texas state treasurer. A judge ordered Hutchison, a Republican, to be acquitted in 1994 after then-Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle refused to present his case against Hutchison. She chose not to seek re-election in 2012.
Former Minnesota senator David Durenberger in 1995. (Dennis Cook, AP)
[h=5]David Durenberger[/h]The Minnesota Republican was indicted by a Washington grand jury in 1993 for misuse of public funds, as he sought Senate reimbursement for lodging expenses. Durenberger agreed to plead guilty to five misdemeanors. In exchange, the Justice Department agreed to drop felony charges and did not recommend prison time. Durenberger was fined $1,000 and he was sentenced to one year of probation.
The late senator Harrison Williams, D-N.J., is shown in this July 28, 1981, file photo in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite, AP)
[h=5]Harrison Williams[/h]The New Jersey Democrat was convicted in 1981 for taking bribes in what became known as the Abscam sting operation, which helped inspire the Oscar-nominated movie, American Hustle. At the time of his indictment, Williams was chairman of the Senate Labor Committee. During his trial, the FBI produced video of Williams promising to use his influence to aid an agent impersonating an Arab sheik. Williams resigned in 1982 ahead of a Senate vote on his expulsion. Williams, who served 21 months in prison, died in 2001.
Sources: U.S. Senate Historical Office, USA TODAY research
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