Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman called on Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to resign Thursday after the latter was accused of acting as a foreign agent.
Menendez was charged with a conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent, in this case, for Egypt, according to a superseding indictment filed by a federal grand jury in Manhattan. Menendez is accused of acting on behalf of Egypt, passing on non-public information and doing favors for the foreign country’s government in exchange for bribes.
“Senator Menendez should not be a U.S Senator. He should have been gone long ago. It is time for every one of my colleagues in the Senate to join me in expelling Senator Menendez. We cannot have an alleged foreign agent in the United States Senate. This is not a close call,” Fetterman said in a statement. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Trump Says Bob Menendez Indictment Was A Scheduled Attack Over Relationship With Dems, Biden)
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine Menendez depart a Manhattan court after they were arraigned on federal bribery charges on September 27, 2023 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Menendez once alleged former President Donald Trump was a foreign agent on behalf of Russia. Federal prosecutors have now accused Menendez of being a foreign agent for the Egyptian government. (RELATED: Bob Menendez Accused Of Acting As Foreign Agent By Federal Grand Jury)
In September, Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were indicted on bribery offenses in the Southern District of New York. (RELATED: Bob Menendez And Wife Indicted On Bribery Offenses)
“Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe — was discovered in the home,” the indictment reads.
The indictment also says Menendez, who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee before stepping down in September, provided “sensitive U.S. Government information” to Egypt.
Menendez denied the allegations in a statement shortly after the press conference.