Who's Bob Menendez? New Jersey's senator charged with corruption has survived politically for years

Bob Menendez, 69, has survived politically for nearly five decades. The son of Cuban immigrants and an attorney by training, he was a Union City, New Jersey, school board member at age 20 -- before he graduated from law school -- and went on to become the mayor of the city. Here's some of what we know about him.

Sen. Bob Menendez's defence against new federal corruption charges against him, his wife and business associates Friday revealed that he's adopting the same defiant stance he took when he faced federal accusations nearly a decade ago.

A three-term senator who has held office at every level across New Jersey's rough-and-tumble political landscape, Menendez vowed to fight the latest set of charges and questioned the veracity of the indictment.

In almost the same language he used in 2017 after a mistrial on federal corruption charges, he cast the indictment Friday in political terms and vowed to continue his work in the Senate.

"For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave," Menendez said in a statement. It was an echo from six years earlier, when he addressed "those who were digging my political grave" and told them he would not forget who they were.

It's a sign, those who know Menendez said, that he won't be going anywhere without a fight, for now.

"Sen. Menendez is going to have to decide what's best for him and his family. He is a fighter. I've never met anybody that is as tough as he is," Steve Sweeney, the former Democratic Senate president, said in a phone interview. "We all could say, `Leave.' It's not our decision, and it wouldn't be fair to tell someone to leave if they feel they haven't done anything wrong."

Menendez, 69, has survived politically for nearly five decades.