Fetterman, Lee call for indicted New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to resign

Two Western Pennsylvania Democrats are joining a small chorus of lawmakers in calling for indicted U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., to resign.

Menendez and his wife were indicted Friday on charges that they took bribes of $100,000 worth of gold bars, a luxury car and $480,000 in cash in exchange for several corrupt acts, including having the Democratic senator use his influence to benefit the authoritarian Egyptian government.

He has brushed off the charges and says he believes he will be cleared.

Last weekend, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Braddock, called for Menendez to resign. Fetterman said his Democratic colleague in the Senate is entitled to presumption of innocence under the American justice system, but he added that, given the seriousness of the allegations, he should not continue to wield influence over national policy.

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

Senator Menendez should resign.

He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence, but he cannot continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations.

I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial.

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 23, 2023

Pennsylvania’s junior senator is currently the only member of the U.S. Senate to call on Menendez to resign. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, has not yet made a public comment on Menendez as of Monday afternoon. A request for comment to Casey’s office was not immediately returned.

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, joined Fetterman on Monday in calling on Menendez to step down. She also noted that Menendez is owed due process rights but said he should resign because his allegations join a group of other cases that are eroding public trust. She said if Democrats are going to call on Supreme Court justices who have been embroiled in corruption allegations to resign, then they need to hold Menendez to the same standard.

“Corruption is corruption. Bribery is bribery,” Lee said.

Lee joins a handful of colleagues from both parties in the U.S. House to call on Menendez to resign, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y, and lawmakers from Menendez’s home state of New Jersey. The indictment has motivated New Jersey Congressman Andy Kim, a Democrat, to run for Senate and challenge Menendez.

Menendez, a Cuban-American, has rejected calls to resign. He said in a news conference Monday that cash found in envelopes at his home was his personal savings and its large amount was the byproduct of his parents’ fear of confiscation of funds from their time in Cuba.

“This may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years,” said Menendez, according to the Associated Press.

Fetterman quipped Monday on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that his family typically just has extra flashlights in the house for emergencies, not hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash.

Joe Calvello, Fetterman’s director of communications, told news site The Messenger that the Pennsylvania senator is in the process of returning a campaign donation that Menendez sent to Fetterman during his campaign run.