Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman has called on Sen. Bob Menendez (D.N.J.) to resign following the federal indictment.
Menendez is charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion in the name of public rights.
“Senator Menendez should resign. Although under our system he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, he cannot exercise influence over national policy, especially given the serious and unique nature of the allegations. He is not qualified to continue and I believe he has chosen to honorably resign and focus on his case,” Fetterman said in a statement Saturday.
New Jersey Democrats have so far suppressed calls for his resignation, including from his home state’s governor, Democrat Phil Murphy.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy calls senators.Menendez to resign after being indicted
Sen. John Fetterman (left) and Sen. Bob Menendez (Bill Clark/Getty Images, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
“Those who believe in justice believe in innocence until proven guilty. I will continue to fight for the people of New Jersey with the same success I have over the past 50 years.” “This is the same success record that these very same leaders have been praising all along. I don’t understand how some people are so quick to criticize Latinos and try to force them out of their seats. I’m not going anywhere,” Menendez said. Saturday.
The senator earlier said prosecutors were misrepresenting the normal operations of his congressional office and were trying to “dig my political grave.”
“The excesses of these prosecutors are clear. They misrepresented the normal work of the parliamentary secretariat. Moreover, they were not content to make false allegations against me, and did not allow my wife to meet me. “He attacked my wife because of our long-standing friendship from before we met,” Menendez said.
U.S. Attorney Damien Williams announced the indictment at a press conference Friday morning.
“Today, I am announcing that my office is filing bribery charges against Sen. Robert Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, and New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Duives. We are pleased to announce that we have obtained an indictment in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams. he said at a press conference Friday morning.
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez faces bribery charges
UNITED STATES – SEPTEMBER 12: Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) is seen at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
According to the indictment, the couple received “several hundred thousand dollars.” bribery Using Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes in exchange for benefiting the Arab Republic of Egypt. ”
Mr. Menendez allegedly provided confidential U.S. government information to Mr. Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman who “secretly supported the Egyptian government.”
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Photo evidence shows gold bars given by Fred Dives and found at the home of Democratic New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez and Nadine Menendez. On Friday, September 22, 2023, a federal indictment was released, alleging that Senator Menendez, his wife, and three New Jersey businessmen sought to use their political positions to support the Arab Republic of Egypt. He was charged with bribery in connection with the alleged incident. (U.S. District Court)
of suspicion of bribery These included gold, cash, mortgage payments, compensation for missed or no-show work, luxury cars, and “other items of value.”
Menendez said his family received gold bars in 2020.
Mr. Menendez also allegedly pressured Department of Agriculture officials to protect the business monopoly granted to Mr. Hana. egyptian government.
Menendez was photographed with his wife Nadine during a celebratory dinner in 2019 with businessman Jose Uribe, who was also indicted on Friday. (U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York)
In return, Mr. Hana returned profits from the monopoly business to Mr. Menendez, according to the indictment.
Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.
