Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey has been the target of shocking bribery claims, prompting Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to call for his resignation. However, so far, their Democratic colleagues have been more reserved.
Despite harsh criticism of Menendez, who was just indicted on broad corruption charges, in interviews with Sunday TV programs, three Democratic senators did not demand that he give up his position in the Senate, where the party has a tenuous majority.
The claims against Menendez have been referred to as “devastating” by Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Menendez chaired until Friday.
“Senators shouldn’t use their office to their own financial advantage. Given these allegations, it is challenging for me to think that Senator Menendez can be productive in his work, but I think I want to revisit and speak with my colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee before I suggest a course of action for Senator Menendez,” Murphy said in an interview in MSNBC’s “Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart.”
Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, called the allegations against Menendez “serious and shocking” on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”
Kelly remarked, “I’ve never seen anything like this,” noting that Menendez had resigned as chair of the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Kelly praised the move as “serious,” but added that Menendez “will have to think extensively about the cloud that will hang over his service in the United States Senate.”
He needs to assess his capacity to effectively serve the people of New Jersey, Kelly added.
Charges against Menendez and his wife include conspiring to extort money, providing false information to a government agency, and committing honest services fraud. The indictment claims that the bribes they received included “cash, payments toward a home mortgage, gold bars, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other items of value.”
More than $480,000 in cash was discovered by federal authorities who carried out a search warrant at his Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home, “much of it stuffed into envelopes as well as hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe,” the indictment states.
On Saturday, Fetterman became the first senator from the Democratic party to demand Menendez’s resignation. In a statement, he added, “He is entitled to the presumption of innocence within our system, but he is not entitled to keep trying to influence national policy, particularly considering the serious and particular nature of the allegations.”
In a statement released on Friday night, Menendez stated, “I’m not going anywhere.” He has denied any wrongdoing.
Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, stated on Sunday’s “State of the Union” on CNN that “there’s no question” the accusations against Menendez are “very serious.”
But he said that his future would depend on him and his supporters. Senator Menendez and the residents of New Jersey will decide whether to resign, he said.
“The accused individual has a right to the presumption of innocence, and it is the government’s duty to establish this. That’s what I’ve stated about Donald Trump. Regarding Bob Menendez, I’ll say the same thing, Durbin continued.
Meanwhile, several Democrats in Menendez’s own state, including New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, have called for him to resign. In addition to calling for Menendez to step down, Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., declared on Saturday that he will run against Menendez for the position.
Prior to the indictment, Menendez declared his intention to run for office again the following year. According to Durbin, “that remains to be seen.”
An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by Menendez’s office.
On Sunday, the senator did receive some backing from Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y.
NBC News asked Santos if he felt Menendez should retire after he was indicted by federal authorities on fraud allegations in May and faced calls from both parties to step down.
“I believe that a fair trial is crucial, and I also believe that he has the right to self-defense. The media needs to stop portraying everyone as guilty before they are even evaluated by a jury, according to Santos, who has pled not guilty in his own case.
When did we abandon the fundamental principle of our Constitution that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty? Therefore, I disagree that he should step down.