New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez is temporarily stepping down from his role as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman following a federal indictment.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed this afternoon that Menendez is temporarily ending his role.

“Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey. He has a right to due process and a fair trial,” Schumer said. “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to step down temporarily from his position as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee until the matter has been resolved.”

The indictment claims that Menendez and his wife, “engaged in a corrupt relationship” with three New Jersey businessmen.

“Today, I’m announcing that my office has obtained a three count indictment charging Senator Robert Menendez, his wife, Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes for bribery offenses,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference on Friday morning. 

From Fox News:

According to the indictment, the couple accepted "hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez's power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt." 

The alleged bribes included gold, cash, payments toward a mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury car, and "other things of value."