🚨 U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted for the second time
🚨 He and his wife are charged with exchanging influence for bribes
🚨 He says he’s been falsely accused
TRENTON — New Jersey’s top Democrats, including Gov. Phil Murphy, are calling on the state’s senior U.S. senator to immediately resign in the face of fresh corruption charges.
The calls for U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., step down fly in the face of his protestations of innocence.
Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes of gold bars, a luxury car and cash in exchange for using his outsized sway in foreign affairs to help the government of Egypt — and others — as well as other corrupt acts, according to an indictment unsealed Friday.
Investigators say they found nearly $500,000 in cash hidden in clothing and closets as well as $100,000 in gold bars in a search of the home the 69-year-old senator from New Jersey shares with his wife. Menendez serves as the powerful chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The indictment, the second in eight years against Menendez, and comes after a years-long investigation that delved into his relationships with wealthy New Jersey businessmen.
Hours after the announcement, Murphy called the allegations “deeply disturbing” and called on him to resign because “they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state.”
Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, and state Democratic Chairman LeRoy Jones Jr. also said Menendez should step down.
The first major Democrat to call for Menendez to quit
The deluge of denouncements of the most powerful Democrats in the state followed a call for resignation issued by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J. 3rd District, who said he didn’t have “confidence that the Senator has the ability to properly focus on our state and its people while addressing such a significant legal matter.”
“These allegations are serious and alarming. It doesn’t matter what your job title is or your…
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