U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez will have the opportunity to rebut, deny or admit the 14 counts of federal corruption charges on Thursday when he appears before the federal court in Newark.

The senator from New Jersey was indicted in connection with an ongoing probe of his business transactions with Salomon Welgen, a rich optometrist in Florida who is also his longtime buddy, reports MSNBC.

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In view of the charges, people close to the senator said hinted that Menendez plans to voluntarily and temporarily step down as member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

According to the indictment, the senator accepted almost $1 million worth of expensive presents from Welgen, believed to be in exchange for Menendez's alleged influence on the outcome of ongoing contractual and Medical billing disputes. Melgen is expected to earn millions of dollars from the disputes.

The indictment also said that Melgen sought the senator's help in getting visas for the doctor's numerous girlfriends from overseas.

Tricia Enright, the communications director of Menendez, said the senator and his legal team were not informed yet of the grand jury action. However, he scheduled a news conference on Wednesday evening.

In 2013, Welgen's medical office was raided by federal authorities to investigate if the senator "improperly advocated" on his friend's behalf, particularly intervention in a Medicare billing dispute.

Giving rise to the business connection between the two is the admission by the senator that he went several times to the Dominican Republic using Melgen's private plane, and Menendez did not pay for the air trips. In 2013, he agreed to reimburse the doctor $58,500 to cover full cost of two trips.

He also paid another $11,500 for the use of Melgen's plane to fly from Florida to New Jersey in 2011.

Menendez had actually admitted initiating actions that could benefit the doctor such as getting in touch with U.S. health agencies to inquire about billing practices and policies. But he insisted that it is not wrong as he pointed out decades of friendship between him and Melgen.

The 61-year-old senator denied the charges of corruption, bribery and fraud and said he is ready to fight the charges, reports Washington Post.

The senator's parents were Cuban immigrants who worked hard. He claims to have got his work ethics from his mother and father who were a seamstress and carpenter. His official senate biography claims Menendez's story is that of a quintessential American, but the charges appear to say otherwise.

TagsBob Menendez