(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has called upon fellow Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey to resign from office after being accused of accepting bribes.
“The charges against Senator Menendez are extremely serious and the details released are deeply disturbing,” Murray said Wednesday in an email to news media. “While Senator Menendez is entitled to his day in court, I believe he should step down and focus on his legal defense.”
If Menendez refuses to resign, Murray said she would encourage the Senate Ethics Committee to open an investigation into the allegations against him, separate from the ongoing criminal case.
In a separate statement Wednesday, fellow U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., called the Menendez indictment “shocking and disturbing.” While everyone deserves their day in court, said Cantwell, “I don’t believe anyone under such a damning indictment can effectively serve, and I urge Senator Menendez to step aside.”
Menendez will reportedly address Senate Democrats during their party lunch this Thursday.
Last Friday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the South District of New York and the FBI announced an indictment against Menendez and his wife Nadine, alleging they accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, plus gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible in a bribery scheme involving three New Jersey businessmen during the years 2018-22.
In exchange, Menendez allegedly used his official position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit the government of Egypt and the three businessmen identified as Jose Uribe, Fred Daibes, and Egyptian native Wael “Will” Hana, described as a longtime friend of Nadine Menendez.
In a press release, the U.S. Department of Justice said Menendez sought to pressure a senior official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect a business monopoly granted by Egypt to Hana, and disrupt a federal criminal prosecution against Daibes.
Menendez, 69, and his wife, 56, made preliminary appearances Wednesday morning in federal court in Manhattan, then were released on personal recognizance bonds of $100,000 and $250,000 respectively. Their three co-defendants also made initial court appearances this week and it’s expected all five will plead not guilty at formal arraignment, when a trial date will be set.
Since last week’s indictment was unsealed, Murray joined a growing chorus of Democrats in Congress calling for Menendez to resign from the Senate, which he has thus far resisted.
Menendez, who has served in Congress since 2006, said he expects to be exonerated and continue to serve as the senior senator from New Jersey. Menendez said he has routinely kept significant amounts of personal cash at his home for emergencies and because of his family’s history in Cuba where bank accounts were sometimes subjected to government confiscation.
The indictment said FBI agents served a search warrant at Menendez’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey home in June 2022 and found gold bars and over $480,000 in cash in envelopes stuffed into clothing, closets and a safe. Some of the envelopes contained fingerprints or DNA matching those of Daibes or his driver, authorities alleged.
In the press statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said Menendez and his wife engaged in “a corrupt relationship with Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes … in exchange for Senator Menendez agreeing to use his power and influence to protect and enrich those businessmen and to benefit the Government of Egypt. My office is firmly committed to rooting out corruption, without fear or favor, and without any regard to partisan politics. We will continue to do so.”
Menendez has faced federal charges before. In 2015, he was indicted for allegedly using his political influence to aid an eye doctor friend in Florida. Following trial in 2017, a jury deadlocked on charges of bribery, fraud, and conspiracy and prosecutors subsequently dropped the case.
Menendez is not the only member of Congress currently accused of criminal wrongdoing. This May, U.S. Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was charged in federal court with 13 felony counts including wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, and making false statements. Like Menendez, Santos has also resisted calls to resign and remains in office pending trial.
