John Fetterman: Bob Menendez should resign and focus on trial

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) on Saturday became the first Democratic senator to call for the resignation of colleague Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Fetterman wrote that while Menendez is “entitled to the presumption of innocence” in the federal corruption case against him, he “cannot continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations.

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“I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial,” Fetterman added.

Menendez was indicted Friday on charges including conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. The Justice Department said Menendez worked secretly to help the government of Egypt, including providing Egyptian officials with “sensitive, non-public” information, and in return received payments in cash and gold bars handled by three New Jersey businessmen. Those businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes, were also indicted Friday, as was Menendez’s wife, Nadine Menendez.

Several prominent New Jersey Democrats, including Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) and the chairman of the state party organization, have called on Menendez to step down, citing the gravity of the charges. New Jersey Democrats in Congress, including Reps. Andy Kim and Mikie Sherrill, have also said Menendez should resign.

The response has been more muted and cautious among Democrats in the upper chamber of Congress, however.

“Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey. He has a right to due process and a fair trial,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement Friday. “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to step down temporarily from his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee until the matter has been resolved.”

Menendez has rejected calls to resign. In a statement, the senator said he intends to “continue to fight for the people of New Jersey with the same success I’ve had for the past five decades.

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“I am not going anywhere,” he added.

Menendez has served as a senator since 2006. He has faced federal corruption charges before, in 2015, but those charges were dropped three years later after a jury failed to reach a verdict.