Reports indicate Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., plans to create a legal defense fund to help pay for tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees relating to the federal criminal probe into his dealings with foreign regulators.
Menendez’s office confirmed plans to create the fund to NBC News as the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York continues its months-long investigation into the Democrat.
Federal investigators opened to new probe into Menendez in October and have given no indication of how long it is expected to continue.
The probe has already cost Menendez roughly $200,000 in campaign funds, according to filings obtained by NBC.
“Senator Menendez is confident that this official inquiry will be successfully closed, but as it is still unresolved he will be opening a separate legal defense fund so as not to drain any further campaign funds,” a spokeswoman for Menendez told the outlet. Fox News Digital reached out to Menendez’s office for additional comment, but they did not immediately respond.
The probe, which involves several federal organizations, is investigating lavish gifts Menendez’s wife received from a food producer that obtained an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to certify Halal food exports across the globe.
The inquiry is considering whether Menendez may have improperly used his position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to influence the deal.
The committee controls roughly $2 billion in U.S. aid to Egypt, according to NBC.
Menendez was previously indicted on federal bribery charges in 2016.