NJ Sen. Cory Booker calls on Menendez to resign over bribery charges

New Jersey junior Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., called on senior Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., to step down in the wake of an indictment on bribery and corruption charges. Booker said he found the allegations to be specific and disturbing, and added that stepping down is best for the people of New Jersey. 

“Stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost,” Booker said in a statement. “Senator Menendez has made these sacrifices in the past to serve. And in this case he must do so again. I believe stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving.” 

“As Senator Menendez prepares to mount his legal defense, he has stated that he will not resign. Senator Menendez fiercely asserts his innocence and it is therefore understandable that he believes stepping down is patently unfair. But I believe this is a mistake,” the statement said.   

Booker is added to the growing list of New Jersey Democrats calling for Menendez to step down, including Gov. Phil Murphy and Rep. Andy Kim.

Kim said he will challenge Menendez for his seat in the 2024 election. 

There are at least seven other Senate Democrats who want Menendez to resign, including:

• Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa.
• Sen. Jon Tester, D-Minn.
• Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.
• Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa.
• Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio.
• Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., did not call on Menendez to resign but did agree with his decision to step down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. 

“Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey. He has a right to due process and a fair trial,” Schumer said. “Senator Menendez has rightly decided to step down temporarily from his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee until the matter has been resolved.” 

Menendez is accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars and a Mercedes. In exchange, prosecutors accuse Menendez of helping friends with criminal investigations and prosecutions, as well as passing sensitive U.S. government information to the government of Egypt. 

In public remarks Monday, Sept. 25, Menendez said he believes he will be exonerated and will remain New Jersey’s senior senator when the trial is over.

He also offered an explanation as to why investigators found $480,000 in cash hidden in clothes, closets and a safe in his house. 

“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” Menendez said. “Now, 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.” 

Menendez said he will address the other issues at trial. The senator did not take questions during his press conference but said his indictment was written to be as salacious as possible, and added that prosecutors sometimes get it wrong.