Prosecutors say the Democrat accepted nearly $150,000 in gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to corruptly abuse his power. Menendez has pleaded not guilty to charges

Menendez had said this year that he would not seek the Democratic nomination to pursue a fourth term, and on Monday he filed paperwork with the state to launch an independent bid on the ballot.

But the New Jersey Democrat said he hopes to be exonerated and "pursue my candidacy as an independent Democrat in a general election."

The indictment says the senator connected one of his co-defendants with a member of the Qatari royal family who invested in the businessman's multimillion-dollar real estate project.