New Jersey’s governor calls on Democratic Senator Menendez to resign
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and other top Democrats in the Garden State are calling for Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez to resign, a sign of how quickly the senator’s political support could fade following Friday’s shocking indictment on federal bribery charges. “The alleged facts are so serious that they threaten Senator Menendez’s ability to effectively represent the people of our state,” Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement. Murphy would appoint a senator to replace Menendez if he resigns. Menendez is up for re-election in 2024. Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes,” including gold, cash and a luxury vehicle, in exchange for the senator’s influence. An attorney for Nadine Menendez said she denies any wrongdoing and will fight federal charges. The senator issued a defiant statement about the allegations, calling the investigation “an active smear campaign using anonymous sources and innuendo to create an appearance of impropriety where none exists.” “The excesses of these prosecutors are obvious,” Menendez said . “You misrepresented the normal work of a congressional office. “Moreover, “not content with making false allegations against me, they also attacked my wife for the long-standing friendship she had before she and I even met.” And in a separate statement later on Friday, he dismissed the claims quickly backed his resignation saying he would not be giving up his seat. “Those who believe in justice believe in innocence until proven guilty,” he said. “I plan to continue fighting for the people of New Jersey with the same success I have had over the past five decades. This is the same track record that these same leaders have always praised. It’s not lost on me how quickly some people judge a Latino and push him out of his place. I’m not going anywhere.” But Murphy wasn’t the only leading New Jersey Democrat to speak out against Menendez on Friday. “The charges filed today against Senator Menendez contradict everything we as public officials should believe,” said Craig Coughlin, spokesman of the New Jersey General Assembly, in a statement. “We are given the trust of the public, and once that trust is broken, we cannot move forward,” New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman LeRoy J. Jones Jr. said , the allegations are “incredibly serious and raise many troubling questions.” But while Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the allegations against Menendez are “deeply disturbing,” he did not address the charges “Any person who uses their public office to enriching oneself rather than selflessly serving the public does so at great cost to the public and all public servants,” Platkin said in a statement. Members of New Jersey’s delegation in Washington, DC also called on Menendez to resign. Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who some say could replace the senator, said the best thing for the state would be if he resigned. “These are serious allegations against Senator Menendez, and if they are proven true, there is no place for such behavior in public service,” she said. Democratic Rep. Andy Kim also called for the senator’s resignation, saying the matter was too distracting for him to serve the state. “It is imperative that the people of New Jersey know the truth about what happened, and I hope that the justice system works thoroughly and quickly to bring this truth to light,” Kim said in a statement. “In the meantime, I do not have confidence that the Senator will be able to properly focus on our state and its people when handling such an important legal matter. He should resign.” Menendez has faced federal charges before and seen political allies turn against him. In 2015, he was charged with conspiracy, bribery and official fraud in connection with his alleged abuse of the power of his office as part of a relationship with a wealthy ophthalmologist. The case ended in a mistrial and the senator was subsequently acquitted of several charges. The Justice Department declined to retry the case. After the mistrial was announced in 2017, Menendez issued a stark warning to his fellow politicians in the Garden State. “To those who dug my political grave so they could jump into my seat: I know who you are and I will not forget you,” he said at the time.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and other top Democrats in the Garden State are calling for Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez to resign, a sign of how quickly the senator’s political support could fade following Friday’s shocking indictment on federal bribery charges.
“The alleged facts are so serious that they threaten Senator Menendez’s ability to effectively represent the people of our state,” Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement.
Murphy would appoint a senator to replace Menendez if he resigned. Menendez is up for re-election in 2024.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes,” including gold, cash and a luxury vehicle, in return for the senator’s influence.
An attorney for Nadine Menendez said she denies any wrongdoing and will fight the federal charges. In a statement, the senator was defiant about the allegations, calling the investigation “an active smear campaign using anonymous sources and innuendo to create an appearance of impropriety where none exists.”
“The excesses of these prosecutors are obvious,” Menendez said. “You misrepresented the normal work of a congressional office. Furthermore, not content with making false allegations against me, they also insult my wife for the long-standing friendship she had before she and I even met.”
And in a separate statement later on Friday, he quickly dismissed calls to resign and said he would not give up his seat.
“Those who believe in justice believe in innocence until proven guilty,” he said. “I plan to continue fighting for the people of New Jersey with the same success I have had over the past five decades. This is the same track record that these same leaders have always praised. It’s not lost on me how quickly some people judge a Latino and push him out of his place. I do not go anywhere.”
But Murphy wasn’t the only top New Jersey Democrat to defeat Menendez on Friday.
“The charges brought against Senator Menendez today contradict everything we as public servants should believe,” New Jersey General Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin said in a statement. “We are given the trust of the public and once that trust is broken we cannot continue.”
New Jersey Democratic State Committee Chairman LeRoy J. Jones Jr. said the allegations were “incredibly serious and raise many troubling questions.”
But while Attorney General Matthew Platkin said the allegations against Menendez were “deeply disturbing,” he did not call on the senator to resign.
“Any individual who uses their public office to enrich themselves rather than selflessly serving the public does so at great cost to the public and all public officials,” Platkin said in a statement.
Members of New Jersey’s delegation in Washington, DC also called on Menendez to resign. Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who some say could replace the senator, said the best thing for the state would be for him to resign.
“These are serious allegations against Senator Menendez, and if they are proven true, there is no place for such behavior in public service,” she said.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim also called for the senator’s resignation, saying the matter was too distracting for him to serve the state.
“It is imperative that the people of New Jersey know the truth about what happened, and I hope that the justice system works thoroughly and quickly to bring this truth to light,” Kim said in a statement. “In the meantime, I do not have confidence that the Senator will be able to properly focus on our state and its people when handling such an important legal matter. He should resign.”
Menendez has faced federal charges before and seen political allies turn against him.
In 2015, he was charged with conspiracy, bribery and official fraud for allegedly abusing the power of his office in a relationship with a wealthy ophthalmologist. The case ended in a mistrial and the senator was subsequently acquitted of several charges. The Justice Department declined to retry the case.
After the mistrial was announced in 2017, Menendez issued a stark warning to his fellow politicians in the Garden State.
“To those who dug my political grave so they could jump into my seat: I know who you are and I will not forget you,” he said at the time.
