WASHINGTON — Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., who faces federal bribery charges, plans to address Senate Democrats on Thursday behind closed doors during their luncheon.
So far, 30 Senate Democrats — a majority of the Senate Democratic Caucus — have called on Menendez to resign from Congress since he was indicted last week.
He and his wife, Nadine, were charged with bribery over their alleged acceptance of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in return for the use of the senator’s influence to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government.
On his way into the Capitol on Thursday, Menendez declined to share with reporters what message he plans to deliver to his colleagues. Asked where the gold bars federal agents discovered in his New Jersey home came from, the Democratic senator said, “I’ll share what I have to share with my colleagues.”
Earlier Thursday, Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., the first Senate Democrat to call for Menendez’s resignation, said that nothing he the New Jersey senator could say would sway his opinion.
“Unless Senator Menendez is coming today to resign, I am not interested in hearing his ‘explanation’ for gold bars stashed in a mattress. We’re past the point of his tough talk and defiance, given the scope and scale of his alleged corruption,” tweeted Fetterman, who added in a separate tweet, “Pro Tip: I’d respectfully suggest that Senator Menendez contact Ed Pawlowski, from my home state, to see how that story ended in misplaced bravado.”
Fetterman was referring to a former mayor of Allentown, Pa., who resigned after he was convicted on 47 federal corruption charges.
Menendez has been defiant and adamant that he and his wife did nothing wrong. Both pleaded not guilty at their arraignment on Wednesday in a Manhattan courtroom. Three other defendants charged in the same case also pleaded not guilty.
Senate Democrats, including the Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., were still pressing Menendez to resign from his seat on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the top Democrat in the House weighed in on the situation and implied that it’s time for Menendez to go.
“I think that the allegations that have been made against the senator are deeply troubling and should shock the conscience,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters at his weekly press conference. “The senator is entitled to the presumption of innocence, as well as his day in court. At the end of the day, his fate will be decided by a jury of his peers. Yet it’s hard for me to see how the senator can effectively, at this moment, represent the people he’s ably served for decades in New Jersey.”
Menendez has denied all allegations of wrongdoing. He snapped at reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday when he was asked why he was refusing to resign. “Because I’m innocent,” he said.” What’s wrong with you guys?”
The charges Menendez faces include conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.
The bribes he and his wife received included “cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle and other items of value,” according to the indictment.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
