Senate Democrats are stuck in a bind over Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial: despite roughly half of the Senate Democratic caucus having called for him to resign, they are too afraid to endorse anyone to primary him, according to a report by Politico.
Politico contacted the offices of dozens of Democratic lawmakers asking them what they will do about Menendez. Few had any concrete plan to force him out, and most were described as merely “crossing their fingers” hoping he would reassign of their own accord. The only Senator willing to apply pressure on the situation is Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman. One suggested replacement is Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ).
One Senator, who spoke to Politico anonymously, said they believe the Democratic Party and Chuck Schumer would refuse to grant Menendez money if he ran for re-election. So far, Menendez has not ruled out running again. “When I make that decision I will announce it,” he said. “I will announce it when it comes time.”
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife Nadine were indicted on bribery charges after a yearlong investigation. The investigation found reason to believe the couple had accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in exchange for political favors that benefited three New Jersey businessmen—Egyptian-American Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes—and the Egyptian government.
The indictment was filed in Manhattan federal court on Friday, Sept. 22. Menendez, his wife, and two other defendants pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on Sept. 27. The conditions of Menendez’s release included $100,000 personal recognizance bond (no upfront payment), pretrial supervision, and a requirement to surrender his personal passports. Menendez has also been ordered to cease all communication with everyone involved in the case besides his wife, including the co-defendants, his staff members and advisers, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffers.
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The indictment alleged that the senator was bribed with cash, gold, home mortgage payments, house furnishings, payment for a “no show” job, a luxury vehicle, and other valuables. These pieces of evidence were discovered when federal agents used warrants to search Menendez’s home and safe deposit box. Between the home and the box, the officials found about $550,000 in cash, with fingerprints and/or DNA of suspect Daibes on some of the envelopes. Menendez’s name was also printed across some of the clothes found with the stashes of money.
The indictment alleges the luxury vehicle was purchased by Uribe, the furnishings and gold bars were given to Menendez by Hana and Daibes, and the gold bars were given by either Hana or Daibes. The document asserts with certainty that Daibes gave two of the gold bars.
Further, the document draws a link between Menendez’s gifts and the American government giving aid to the Egyptian government. It claims that between 2018 and roughly 2022, the U.S. gave significant military support to Egypt including more than $1 billion per year in grants. It underscores that Menendez was chairman or ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at all times during this period. It contrasts this generosity with the preceding several years, when the U.S. routinely withheld substantial aid from Egypt until it would improve its human rights and democracy track records.
This is not the first time Menendez has been indicted on corruption charges. In 2015, the Senator was being investigated for allegations of sleeping with underage prostitutes in the Dominic Republic as well as a “long-running stream of bribes.” The investigation found “corroborating evidence” for the claims that Menendez had solicited prostitutes, and that he was involved in a corruption scheme with doctor and businessman Salomon Melgen. But the case ended in a mistrial and Menendez was acquitted, and the Department of Justice dropped their part of the case. Meanwhile, his partner Melgen was sentenced to 17 years in prison for defrauding Medicare $73 million.
When asked if President Biden believes Menendez should resign, Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “So a couple of things, um, gonna be really careful here this is an, uh, and not comment because this is an active matter, um, we learned about this just like all of you, uh, but again this is an active matter so I’m not going to comment.” In response to the indictment, Menendez released a statement claiming the accusations stemmed from racism, writing, “Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. Senator and serve with honor and distinction.” He denied the allegations and reaffirmed his denial of previous corruption charges.
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