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Sen. Robert Menendez, a powerful force on Capitol Hill and ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was charged Wednesday with receiving nearly $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions from a longtime friend and benefactor in exchange for using his Senate office to help the Florida mans business and personal interests.

The bribery and conspiracy charges, long-awaited after questions surfaced about his dealings with Dr. Salomon Melgen of West Palm Beach, Fla., marks the first time since 2008 that a sitting senator has faced criminal charges. A federal grand jury in his home state of New Jersey filed the indictment Wednesday.

Menendez and Melgen, both 61, were each charged with one count of conspiracy, one count of violating the travel act, eight counts of bribery and three counts of honest services fraud.

Menendez was also charged with one count of making false statements.

A senator since 2006, Menendez vigorously denied any wrongdoing Wednesday and said he would be vindicated.

Approaching the podium to raucous cheers from a group of supporters in Newark, N.J., Menendez dismissed the indictment as a political maneuver.

For nearly three years, Ive lived under a Justice Department cloud, and today Im outraged that this cloud has not been lifted, he said.

Im outraged that prosecutors at the Justice Department were tricked into starting this investigation three years ago with false allegations by those who have a political motive to silence me, but I will not be silenced," he said. "Im confident, at the end of the day, I will be vindicated and they will be exposed."

Menendez did not take questions, but said federal prosecutors misunderstood his relationship with Melgen.

Prosecutors at the Justice Department dont know the difference between friendship and corruption, he said.

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Menendez vows to fight bribery, conspiracy charges