WASHINGTON (OSV News) — A growing number of U.S. Senate Democrats have called for Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to resign from Congress after he was indicted Sept. 22 in a federal corruption case.
More than a dozen Democratic senators, including Menendez’s fellow New Jersey Democrat, Sen. Cory Booker, called on the Garden State’s senior senator to resign from office following charges from federal prosecutors, alleging that Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for his agreement to use his official position to protect them and their business interests and to benefit the government of Egypt.
Sen. Cory Booker calls allegations ‘shocking’
In a Sept. 26 statement, the same day the Senate returned to Washington following the announcement of the indictment, Booker praised Menendez’s “extraordinary work and boundless work ethic,” but said the federal indictment “contains shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing.”
“I’ve found the allegations hard to reconcile with the person I know,” Booker said, arguing that he deserves the presumption of innocence until he faces a jury of his peers who will determine “whether he is criminally guilty.”
Booker acknowledged that Menendez intends to mount a defense, but argued that his actions have shaken the trust of their constituents and he should resign.
“Stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost,” Booker said. “Senator Menendez has made these sacrifices in the past to serve. And in this case he must do so again. I believe stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving.”
Booker’s statement, as well as calls from New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and other top Democratic officials in the state for Menendez’s resignation, could pave the way for Garden State Democrats to launch a viable primary challenge to Menendez, a lifelong Catholic born to Cuban immigrants and educated by Jesuits. Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey announced he would launch such a bid. Menendez is up for reelection in 2024, and has stated he will seek another term. Should he reverse course and resign, Murphy would appoint his successor.
Sen. John Fetterman calls for resignation
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., was the first Senate Democrat to call for Menendez’s resignation, and said he would return campaign contributions from Menendez. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania senator quipped they would do so in cash-stuffed envelopes, such as those cited in the indictment.
Other Senate Democrats, including several facing reelection campaigns next year such as Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Jon Tester D-Mont., Bob Casey D-Pa., and Jacky Rosen D-Nev., also called on Menendez to resign.
In a defiant public statement on Sept. 25, Menendez, denied wrongdoing and rejected calls for his resignation, arguing the $480,000 in cash among other assets found in his home came from his personal savings.
“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” Menendez said. “Now this may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years.”
But in a Sept. 22 statement, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said, “As the grand jury charged, between 2018 and 2022, Senator Menendez and his wife engaged in a corrupt relationship with Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes — three New Jersey businessmen who collectively paid hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including cash, gold, a Mercedes Benz, and other things of value — in exchange for Senator Menendez agreeing to use his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the Government of Egypt.”
“My Office is firmly committed to rooting out corruption, without fear or favor, and without any regard to partisan politics,” Williams said. “We will continue to do so.”
Menendez, a Catholic who infrequently discusses his faith in public, was first elected to the Senate in 2006, and was previously a member of the House of Representatives before that. His son, Rep. Rob Menendez D-N.J., is currently a member of the House who stated his intention to seek re-election next year to his 8th Congressional District seat.
