U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., listens during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces to examine United States Space Force programs in review of the Fiscal Year 2024 Defense Authorization Request, Tuesday, March 14, 2023, in Washington.
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
(Derek Draplin) – U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada on Tuesday called on Sen. Bob Menendez to step down from after he was indicted last week on federal bribery charges.
Menendez, the senior Democratic senator from New Jersey, faces three counts alleging he and his wife took bribes to enrich three New Jersey businessmen. Menendez on Monday defiantly denied the allegations and said he won’t step down.
Rosen joined a chorus of fellow Democratic senators who called for Menendez’s resignation on Tuesday.
“The well-documented political corruption charges are a violation of the public trust, and Senator Menendez should resign,” Rosen said in a statement. “While he is entitled to due process and a fair trial, this is a distraction that undermines the bipartisan work we need to do in the Senate for the American people.”
Rosen has notably sponsored the No Congressionally Obligated Recurring Revenue Used As Pensions To Incarcerated Officials Now Act, also known as the No CORRUPTION Act, which passed the Senate in July. The legislation would close the congressional pension loophole and ban members of Congress from receiving any pensions funded by taxpayer dollars if convicted of felonies related to their time in office.
Menendez said in comments reported Monday by The Center Square that he’ll be exonerated.
“I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated but I will still be New Jersey’s senior senator,” the senator told reporters. “Prosecutors get it wrong sometimes. Sadly, I know that.”
In 2015, Menendez was indicted on bribery charges, but the case ended in a mistrial after a jury failed to return a unanimous verdict.
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