NEW YORK>> Sen. Bob Menendez was charged with secretly aiding the authoritarian government of Egypt and trying to thwart the criminal prosecution of a friend in exchange for gold bars and cash, as prosecutors unsealed a corruption indictment Friday that accuses him of using his foreign affairs influence for personal gain.

He relinquished his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but said he would not resign from Congress, though New Jersey’s governor, a fellow Democrat, said he should.

The indictment, the second in eight years against the powerful 69-year-old New Jersey Democrat, alleges an illegal commingling of Menendez’s professional obligations as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to advance U.S. priorities and his private interest in cultivating relationships with wealthy businessmen. It also includes charges against his wife and three New Jersey businessmen who authorities say showered the couple with money, gold and a luxury car in exchange for official favors.

A previous indictment of Menendez stemming from different allegations ended in 2017 with a deadlocked jury.

Hours after the latest case was unsealed, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat, demanded Menendez’s immediate resignation, saying the allegations are “so serious that they compromise” the senator’s ability to serve. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Menendez would step down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee “until the matter has been resolved,” as per the rules of the Senate Democratic caucus, but stopped short of calling for him to resign.

Beyond advancing Egypt’s interests, Menendez is separately accused of trying to derail the criminal case against one of the businessmen by pushing to install Philip R. Sellinger as U.S. attorney for New Jersey because Menendez believed he could influence Sellinger. Prosecutors say he also tried to use his position of power to try to meddle in a separate criminal investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General’s office.

Authorities found more than $100,00 worth of gold bars in Menendez’s home, and more than $480,000 in cash — much of it hidden in closets, clothing and a safe, prosecutors say. Photos included in the indictment show cash that was stuffed in envelopes found in jackets bearing Menendez’s name. Investigators discovered a Google search by Menendez for the value of a “kilo of gold,” and DNA of one men prosecutors say bribed him on an envelope filled with thousands of dollars in Menendez’s home, they said.

Prosecutors allege Menendez took repeated actions to benefit Egypt despite US. government misgivings over the country’s human rights record that in recent years has prompted Congress to attach restrictions on aid. His steps include ghost-writing a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in aid to Egypt as well as transmitting non-public information to Egyptian officials about military issues, the indictment says.

Menendez in an emailed statement accused prosecutors of misrepresenting “the normal work of a congressional office” and said he will not allow his work in the Senate to be distracted by “baseless allegations.”

“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” Menendez said. “Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists.”

David Schertler, a lawyer for Menendez’s wife, Nadine, said she “denies any criminal conduct and will vigorously contest these charges in court.”

Menendez appears to be the first sitting senator in U.S. history to have been indicted on two unrelated criminal matters, according to the Senate Historical Office. He faces reelection next year in a bid to extend his three-decade career in Washington as Democrats hold a narrow majority in the Senate.

Prosecutors allege Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three business associates, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes. He used his influence to push to nominate Sellinger as U.S. attorney because he believed he could influence Sellinger to protect Daibes, a longtime friend and prominent New Jersey developer who faced criminal prosecution, they said. Sellinger is not accused of any wrongdoing.

Daibes pleaded guilty in April 2022 to bank fraud charges and is scheduled to be sentenced in October. His plea deal calls for him to serve only probation in that case.

The White House declined to comment on the indictment, including on Biden’s nomination of Sellinger, and referred all questions to the Justice Department.

The first time Menendez was indicted, he had been accused of using his political influence to help a Florida eye doctor who had lavished him with gifts and campaign contributions. Menendez was accused of pressuring government officials to resolve a Medicare billing dispute in favor of a friend — Dr. Salomon Melgen — securing visas for the doctor’s girlfriends and helping protect a contract the doctor had to provide port-screening equipment to the Dominican Republic.

The son of Cuban immigrants has always maintained his innocence, and prosecutors dropped the case after a jury deadlocked in November 2017 on charges including bribery, fraud and conspiracy, and a judge dismissed some counts.