Calls Mounting for Menendez to Resign  09/27 06:22

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. Bob Menendez came under heavy pressure to resign 
Tuesday as a surging number of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate, 
including fellow New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker, urged him to step aside over 
the federal bribery allegations against him.

   Around half of Senate Democrats have now said that Menendez should resign, 
including several running for reelection next year. Calls for his resignation, 
including from the head of the Senate Democrats' campaign arm, Michigan Sen. 
Gary Peters, came in quick succession after Booker called on his colleague to 
step aside. Menendez has refused to leave office but has not yet said whether 
he will run for reelection next year.

   Menendez, the longtime chairman and top Democrat on the powerful Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife, Nadine, are accused in an indictment 
released Friday of using his position to aid the authoritarian government of 
Egypt and to pressure federal prosecutors to drop a case against a friend, 
among other allegations of corruption. The three-count indictment says they 
were paid bribes -- gold bars, a luxury car and cash -- by three New Jersey 
businessmen in exchange for the corrupt acts.

   In a statement, Booker said that while Menendez deserves the presumption of 
innocence, senators should adhere to a higher standard, and the details of the 
allegations against Menendez have "shaken to the core" the faith and trust of 
his constituents. He said the indictment of Menendez includes "shocking 
allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing."

   "As senators, we operate in the public trust," Booker said. "That trust is 
essential to our ability to do our work and perform our duties for our 
constituents."

   Menendez has denied any wrongdoing, saying he merely performed as any 
senator would and that the nearly half million dollars in cash found in his 
home -- including some stuffed in pockets of clothing -- was from personal 
savings and kept at hand for emergencies. Authorities recovered about 10 
cash-filled envelopes that had the fingerprints of one of the other defendants 
in the case on them, according to the indictment.

   Menendez, along with his wife and two of the businessmen co-defendants, are 
to be arraigned Wednesday.

   Another defendant, Wael Hana, was arrested at New York's Kennedy Airport 
Tuesday after returning voluntarily from Egypt to face the charges. According 
to the indictment, Hana served as a conduit to Menendez for Egyptian military 
and intelligence officials, passing messages to and from the senator and 
arranging meetings.

   Menendez's defiance in recent days is similar to his insistence that he was 
innocent after he first faced federal bribery charges eight years ago -- a case 
that ended with a deadlocked jury in 2017. As he did then, he is stepping down 
from his leadership position on the Foreign Relations panel, as per Senate 
Democratic caucus rules. But he has otherwise made clear that he's not going 
anywhere.

   "I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but as I have stated 
throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are 
presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey's 
senior senator," Menendez said Monday at Hudson County Community College's 
campus in Union City, where he grew up.

   In the Capitol on Tuesday evening, Menendez declined to answer reporters' 
questions about Booker's statement. "I would refer you to all the previous 
statements I've already made. I think that's plenty," he said.

   The calls for his resignation are in sharp contrast to his first case. And 
Booker's call is especially significant in the clubby Senate, where home state 
colleagues tend to stay away from public criticism of each other. Booker and 
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina testified as character 
witnesses in Menendez's last trial.

   The increasing Democratic calls for Menendez to resign also put increased 
pressure on Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has so far stopped short 
of recommending that Menendez step down. Schumer has not commented on the 
indictment since saying in a statement Friday that Menendez would step down 
from the Foreign Relations panel.

   On Tuesday evening, Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow became the highest-ranking 
Democrat in leadership to call for his resignation. "Bob is a longtime 
colleague, and it saddens me to come to this decision," Stabenow, the No. 3 
Democrat, said in a statement.

   Other Democratic senators who have called for Menendez to step down included 
Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Peter Welch of Vermont, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Jon 
Tester of Montana, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Mark 
Kelly of Arizona, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Amy 
Klobuchar of Minnesota, Raphael Warnock of Georgia, Kirsten Gillibrand of New 
York, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of 
Connecticut, John Fetterman and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Elizabeth Warren 
and Ed Markey of Massachusetts.

   Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats, 
also called on Menendez to resign.

   While the number of Democratic senators calling for Menendez was expected to 
grow, some said they would not. Sens. Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, Catherine 
Cortez Masto of Nevada and Joe Manchin of West Virginia all said they believe 
the decision is up to New Jersey voters.

   The White House also declined to weigh in. Press secretary Karine 
Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that "the senator did the right 
thing by standing down from his chairmanship." She did not say whether 
President Joe Biden believed he should resign from his seat, nor would she 
comment on how his presence would affect public faith in the Senate.

   "That is for Senate leadership to speak to, that's for Sen. Menendez to 
speak to," she said.

   If Menendez does run for reelection, he will face at least one challenger in 
a primary: Democratic Rep. Andy Kim announced over the weekend that he will run 
for the Senate because of the charges against the state's senior senator.

   And Menendez would likely be running without the support of his party. 
Peters, who urged his resignation Tuesday, is the chairman of the Democratic 
Senatorial Campaign Committee, which provides campaign support to incumbent 
Democratic senators and challengers.

   Peters said in a statement Tuesday evening that Menendez is not able to 
serve effectively. "As elected officials, the public entrusts us to serve in 
their best interests and in the best interests of our country," Peters said.

   In court earlier in the day, a judge ordered Hana freed pending trial on 
$300,000 cash bail and a $5 million bond.

   Hana's lawyer, Lawrence Lustberg, said after the hearing that his client is 
innocent and has a long friendship with Nadine Menendez that predated her 
marriage to the senator by years. "He has pleaded not guilty because he is not 
guilty," Lustberg said.

   Prosecutors say Hana gave the senator's wife, Nadine Menendez, a "low-show 
or no-show job," paid $23,000 toward her home mortgage, wrote $30,000 checks to 
her consulting company, promised her envelopes of cash, sent her exercise 
equipment and bought some of the gold bars that were found in the couple's home.

   Hana also sought the senator's help in fending off criticism from U.S. 
agricultural officials after Egyptian officials gave his company a lucrative 
monopoly over certifying that imported meat met religious standards, the 
indictment said.