New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) and top Democrat lawmakers called for embattled NJ Senator Bob Menendez, also a Democrat, to resign over bribery and corruption charges.
Federal prosecutors announced Friday that Democrat U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, and his wife, have been indicted on charges of bribery and corruption.
Federal prosecutors out of the Southern District of New York obtained a 3-count indictment against Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez.
Fred Daibes, a real estate developer, New Jersey businessman Wael Hana and Joseph Uribe were also charged.
“The Senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes….. cash, gold, home mortgage payments, jobs, cars, and other things of value” in exchange for “using his power and influence to protect and enrich [New Jersey] businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt,” US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams said.
Nadine Menendez was given a “no-show” or “low-show” job, a Mercedes Benz and other things of value, Damian Williams said.
Special agents discovered $500,000 of cash stuffed into envelopes in closets. “Some of the cash was stuffed in the Senator’s jacket pockets. Some of the envelopes of cash contained Daibes’ fingerprints and Daibes’ DNA,” Williams said at a press conference on Friday.
evidence photos show cash, Mercedes and gold bars
Menendez will be stepping down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, however, this is not enough for top New Jersey Democrats.
Top New Jersey Democrats are calling for Menendez to resign as Senator.
“These are serious charges that implicate national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system. Under our legal system, Senator Menendez and the other defendants have not been found guilty and will have the ability to present evidence disputing these charges, and we must respect the process,” Gov. Murphy said in a statement on Friday.
“However, the alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state. Therefore, I am calling for his immediate resignation,” Murphy added.
Democrat Rep. Mikie Sherrill said it is in the best interest of the state of New Jersey that Menendez resign.
These are serious allegations against Senator Menendez and if proven true, there is no room for this kind of conduct in public service.
Today is a sad day for New Jersey and I believe it’s in the best interest of our state that Senator Menendez resign.
— Rep. Mikie Sherrill (@RepSherrill) September 22, 2023
Senior NJ Democrats Pallone and Pascrell also called on Menendez to resign.
To put this into context, Pallone is longest serving NJ Dem, sixth most senior House member
There’s a lot of loyalty in the delegation, both members have worked and known Menendez a long time, so their statements speak to how serious Dems see these allegations https://t.co/n6DxgX7xEI
— Heather Caygle (@heatherscope) September 22, 2023
NBC News reported:
New Jersey Democrats including Gov. Phil Murphy are calling on Bob Menendez to resign after the Democratic senator was charged Friday with accepting bribes to wield his power and influence.
Murphy called the allegations against Menendez, the state’s senior senator, “deeply disturbing.”
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., also called on Menendez to step down, saying he lacked “confidence that the Senator has the ability to properly focus on our state and its people while addressing such a significant legal matter.”
Kim’s statement was first reported by the New Jersey Globe.
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Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., said in a tweet that it would be “in the best interest of our state that Senator Menendez resign.”
Kim was the second Democrat on Capitol Hill to call for Menendez to step down amid the allegations.
In a CNN interview, Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., said that regardless of political party, a member of Congress who appears to have broken the law should resign, when asked whether Menendez should resign from the Senate.
Bob Menendez responded to calls for his resignation Friday evening.
He used the race card!
“It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I am not going anywhere,” Menendez said.
NEW: Sen Menendez responds to calls for his resignation w/ new stmt: “It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I am not going anywhere.”
Full statement is here: pic.twitter.com/qkVTXhwoAw
— Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) September 22, 2023
