Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) vows to fight to the bitter end regarding the recent corruption charges filed against him and his wife. The New Jersey Democrat has been accused of accepting bribes to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt. The form of payment appears to be mountains of cash, around $480,000, found all over his residence by federal agents—some of which were stuffed in clothing articles. Around $100,000 of gold bars were also discovered.
Menendez made his intention to run for another term known yesterday, adding that he’s confident that he will be exonerated in this indictment. Unlike his recent legal bout with the Justice Department under the Obama administration, the cash and gold bars appear too much for many Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called on Menendez to resign, blowing up the senator’s initial counternarrative that these charges were racially motivated.
MENENDEZ: "I understand how deeply concerning this can be, however the allegations against me are just...allegations!" pic.twitter.com/lL8TnKuGTO
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 25, 2023
New Jersey Democrats are reportedly freaking out, with Menendez’s own colleagues calling on him to say ‘adios’ to his tenure as a sitting US Senator. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said he should step down. Even John Fetterman, who doesn’t know where he is 80 percent of the time, said it was time to go (via Axios):
Vermont Sen. Peter Welch on Monday became the third Democratic senator to call for Sen. Bob Menendez's (D-N.J.) resignation following his federal indictment on bribery charges.
Why it matters: Menendez has defied growing calls to resign from lawmakers, including a number of House Democrats and leading New Jersey Democrats.
State of play: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) on Saturday called for the embattled New Jersey lawmaker to step down.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said in a statement earlier Monday that Menendez "has broken the public trust and should resign from the U.S. Senate."
[…]
… Nearly half of the Democrats in New Jersey's congressional delegation and several leading New Jersey Democrats, including New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, have all called for Menendez to resign.
Gold bar Bob is expected to be arraigned in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday.
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UPDATE: Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) has joined the 'Goodbye, Bob' caucus:
BREAKING: Fellow NJ Senator Cory Booker calls on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign. pic.twitter.com/U668A3OLvj
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 26, 2023
My statement on Senator Robert Menendez. pic.twitter.com/h7WY9EWwUz
— Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) September 26, 2023