
By Spencer Lindquist. Media: Nationalreview
New Jersey Democratic senator Robert Menendez said on Friday that he refuses to resign amid his indictment on federal corruption charges, urging the justice process to take its course and declaring, “I am not going anywhere.”
The indictment alleged that Menendez was involved in an influence-peddling scheme involving Egypt. The unsealed indictment revealed that Menendez’s wife, Nadine, New Jersey real-estate mogul Fred Daibes, and two other business associates were being charged alongside the lawmaker.
“Those who believe in justice believe in innocence until proven guilty. I intend to continue to fight for the people of New Jersey with the same success I’ve had for the past five decades,” Menendez said in a statement obtained by NBC News.
“This is the same record of success these very same leaders have lauded all along. It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I am not going anywhere,” he said.
While he isn’t abandoning his Senate seat, Menendez said he will be temporarily stepping down from his position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Led by Southern District of New York attorney Damian Williams, in June 2022, investigators conducted a search of Menendez’s residence in New Jersey and found $100,000 worth of gold bars, nearly $500,000 in cash, “much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe,” and a brand new Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible.
“Menedez and Nadine Menedez agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menedez’s power and influence as a Senator to seek to protect and enrich” his allies “and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt,” the indictment read. “Among other actions, Menendez provided sensitive U.S. government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt.”
A number of Menendez’s Democratic colleagues in the Senate as well as in his home state have demanded that he step down from his position amid the scandal. New Jersey governor Phil Murphy said in a statement that the allegations were “deeply disturbing” and merit Menendez’s immediate resignation before the case goes to court.
In an earlier statement on Friday, Menendez argued that racial prejudice was behind the Southern District’s decision to pursue legal charges against him.
“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 said. “I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent.”
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