UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey defiantly pushed again in opposition to federal corruption costs on Monday, saying practically half one million {dollars} in money authorities present in his house was from his private financial savings, not from bribes, and was readily available for emergencies.
Rejecting rising requires him to resign, the influential chairman of the Senate International Relations Committee stated he believed he’d be cleared of costs that he took money and gold in unlawful change for serving to Egypt and New Jersey enterprise associates.
“I acknowledge this would be the greatest combat but, however as I’ve said all through this entire course of, I firmly consider that when all of the information are offered, not solely will I be exonerated, however I nonetheless will probably be New Jersey’s senior senator,” Menendez stated at Hudson County Neighborhood Faculty’s campus in Union Metropolis, the place he grew up.
He didn’t reply to questions and didn’t say whether or not he would search reelection subsequent yr.
Addressing allegations within the indictment unsealed Friday that authorities discovered money stuffed in envelopes and clothes at his house, Menendez stated that stemmed from his dad and mom’ concern of confiscation of funds from their time in Cuba.
“This may occasionally appear quaint, however these had been monies drawn from my private financial savings account primarily based on the earnings that I’ve lawfully derived over these 30 years,” he stated.
Authorities recovered about 10 envelopes with tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in money that had the fingerprints of one of many different defendants within the case on them, in line with the indictment.
Menendez additionally addressed his relationship with Egypt, which performs a central function within the indictment in opposition to him, suggesting he’s been robust on the nation over its detention of People and different “human rights abuses.”
“If you happen to have a look at my actions associated to Egypt throughout the interval described on this indictment and all through my entire profession, my report is obvious and constant in holding Egypt accountable,” he stated.
Prosecutors say he met with Egyptian army and intelligence officers, handed alongside personal details about workers on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwrote a letter on behalf of Egypt asking his Senate colleagues to launch a maintain on $300 million price of support. He didn’t instantly deal with these allegations Monday.
The state’s Democratic management, together with Gov. Phil Murphy, the state occasion chairmen and leaders of the Legislature, together with a few of Menendez’s congressional colleagues, are calling on him to resign
In Washington, nevertheless, the place his occasion holds a naked Senate majority, a few of Menendez’s Democratic colleagues have stopped in need of urging him to surrender his seat, notably Majority Chief Chuck Schumer of New York, and Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois.
Though Schumer has not known as for Menendez to step down, different members of his caucus have. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown turned the second Democratic senator to name for his resignation on Monday, following Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman on Saturday.
Menendez did, nevertheless, step down as required as chairman of the International Relations Committee, Schumer stated on Friday, when the indictment was unsealed.
If he seeks reelection, Menendez will face at the least one challenger in a major subsequent yr after Democratic Rep. Andy Kim introduced over the weekend that he will run for the Senate due to the costs in opposition to the state’s senior senator.
Menendez’s reelection marketing campaign might face vital hurdles moreover the felony indictment, the second he has confronted in eight years, in gentle of opposition from state occasion leaders.
If the Democratic Celebration abandons Menendez, he might lose a potent advantage of occasion help: the so-called occasion line, or most well-liked poll placement within the major, broadly considered a major increase to incumbents and people with institution backing.
Menendez has denied any wrongdoing within the federal case in opposition to him, his spouse and three of their enterprise associates. In an emailed assertion final week, he accused prosecutors of misrepresenting “the traditional work of a congressional workplace” and stated he won’t enable his work within the Senate to be distracted by “baseless allegations.” A lawyer for his spouse stated she “denies any felony conduct and can vigorously contest these costs in court docket.”
He and Nadine Menendez are accused of accepting a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} in money, gold and a luxurious automotive from a trio of New Jersey businessmen for quite a lot of corrupt acts.
The indictment stated Menendez used his clout to intrude in three felony circumstances, pressured U.S. agriculture regulators to guard an affiliate’s enterprise pursuits, and used his place as chairman of the International Relations Committee to affect U.S. coverage on Egypt.
Federal brokers who searched his house in 2022 discovered greater than $480,000 in money stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothes, closets and a secure, and gold bars price greater than $100,000, prosecutors stated. One other $70,000 was found inside his spouse’s security deposit field, they stated.
Some Menendez supporters attended the information convention .Amongst them was Manny Contreras, a resident of close by Passaic County, who stated he got here to point out his help for Menendez and had been voting for him for years.
“It’s an enormous drawback for the Latino neighborhood, we don’t need to see him go, we now have to offer him the advantage of the doubt,” Contreras stated.
He stated if Menendez had been discovered responsible, he must rethink his help, however due to the great issues within the Menendez’s lengthy profession, he was prepared to let the method play out.
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Catalini reported from Trenton. Related Press author Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.
