NBC News was forced to run a correction on its website Wednesday after it incorrectly referred to New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez as a Republican.

Menendez, who is a Democrat, is facing federal corruption charges related to allegations that he accepted luxury trips and other favors from a wealthy doctor seeking political influence.

NBC ran an Associated Press wire story about opening statements in the Menendez trial, but referred to the senator on first reference as "U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, R-N.J."

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The erroneous reference did not appear in the original AP copy, though the wire service correctly identified Menedez as a Democrat later in its story's first paragraph. That reference also appeared on NBC's website.

NBC appended a correction to the bottom of its article, saying Menedez' party affiliation had been "misstated."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.