Bob Menendez Refuses To Step Down Despite Indictment

Bob Menendez

Bob Menendez has responded with defiance to the charges of corruption after his second indictment. In response to the grave charges, the senior New Jersey Senator was defiant and blamed prosecutors for misrepresenting the workings of a normal congressional office. Bob Menendez has plans to abandon his part as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair even as the case against him continues. But he vowed to continue as a Senator even as he continues to fight grave federal charges of extortion and bribery.

Bob Menendez Says Bribes Seized Were Pat Of Normal Gifts Between Friends

Bob Menendez is one of the most powerful politicians in Washington, holding the post of the chair of the Committee. But Democratic caucus rules state that any committee chair facing felony charges would have to step down immediatelyThis was the second indictment that the Democrat Senator from New Jersey faced as a sitting senator. He planned to step down while he was the chairman of the committee even as he faced prosecution.

In a statement, Bob Menendez said that he remained fixated on continuing his work and refused to be distracted by what he said were baseless allegations. After a federal investigation running into years, Bob Menendez and Nadine Menendez, his wife, faced indictment on 3 criminal counts. The couple was accused of accepting hundreds of thousands in bribes in exchange for favoring 3 New Jersey businessmen. This was revealed by Damian Williams, the US attorney who charged the senator.

The federal indictment reveals that the bribes included gold, home mortgage payments, luxury vehicles, and other valuable gifts. Menendez has also accused prosecutors of attacking his wife for her longstanding friendship. The argument that Bob Menendez has used for the second time is that the favors that prosecutors have claimed were bribes, were tokens of personal friendships. He said it was part of the typical work of a US Senator.