Cory Booker calls on New Jersey colleague Menendez to resign amid indictment uproar

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) called on Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to resign on Tuesday morning, four days after he and his wife were federally indicted by a grand jury on bribery charges.

The move is an extraordinary one for New Jersey’s junior senator, who has long described his home state colleague as a mentor and friend. Booker stood by Menendez during his first federal criminal trial, attending nearly every day of the proceedings and testifying as a character witness for the senior senator.

DEMOCRATS DIVIDED OVER BOB MENENDEZ’S FUTURE IN THE SENATE

Associated Press

“Sen. Menendez fiercely asserts his innocence and it is therefore understandable that he believes stepping down is patently unfair,” Booker said in a statement. “But I believe this is a mistake. I believe stepping down is best for those Sen. Menendez has spent his life serving.”

“Stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost,” the statement continued. “Sen. 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 Sen. Menendez has spent his life serving.”

Federal prosecutors have accused Menendez and his wife, Nadine, of illegally using the senator’s position as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to peddle influence with donors and benefit the Egyptian government in exchange for cash, gold bars, and other valuables. The senator has dismissed the charges as part of a larger “smear campaign” against him and vowed to fight them.

Menendez was defiant at a Monday press conference, predicting that he would be exonerated and accusing prosecutors of framing the allegations against him to appear “as salacious as possible.”

Most Senate Democrats have demurred on the matter while acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations. Booker’s Tuesday statement made him the ninth member of the conference to call for the New Jersey Democrat’s resignation. His announcement was soon followed by calls from Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) for Menendez to step aside.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Senators typically return to their home states for the weekend on Thursday and head back to Washington on Monday or Tuesday, depending on how leadership has scheduled votes for the week. The Menendez indictment was handed down on Friday, meaning that many members have yet to have the chance to discuss the matter in person.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who serves with Menendez on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview on Sunday that he wanted “to get back and talk to my colleagues” on the panel “before I recommend a path forward for Sen. Menendez.”