Prominent Democrats are calling on New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to resign following his indictment on bribery charges.
One prominent Democrat said that “corruption is corruption” and that Menendez must be held accountable for his actions.
Menendez is accused of exchanging political favors for kickbacks, including cash, gold, and mortgage assistance. Menendez has denied the allegations but has faced calls for his resignation from several Democrats, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jeff Jackson, Dean Phillips, Josh Gottheimer, Tom Malinowski, Frank Pallone, Mikie Sherill, Bill Pascrell, and Andy Kim.
Why are Justices Thomas and Alioto not being criminally prosecuted as members of the House and Senate are?
Why are prominent Democrats calling for Menendez to resign when they are not to be heard calling for Justices Thomas and Alioto to resign?
Are these Justices’ excesses and financial gains any less serious in their capacity to do harm at the bidding of people financially invested in them?
Is ignoring them shouting a message that American “justice” is for sale?
Menendez joins 7 members of Congress indicted in recent years BY SARAH FORTINSKY – 10/01/23 6:29 PM ET SHARE TWEET Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) Greg Nash Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) exits the Capitol after a series of votes on Thursday, September 28, 2023. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has resisted calls from fellow Democrats to resign since his indictment on bribery and corruption charges on Sept. 22. He has maintained his innocence and refused to step down.
His political future is uncertain, as he joins a list of recent members of Congress who have faced federal indictments.
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) Santos was indicted on 13 federal counts in May for allegedly deceiving donors and misreporting his finances. He pleaded not guilty and agreed to pause the trial for plea negotiations. A status conference was delayed to Oct. 27.Santos defied calls for his resignation from both parties and launched a reelection campaign. He survived a vote on his expulsion, but the House sent the measure to the Ethics Committee, which was already probing him.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) Fortenberry was indicted on three charges in October 2021, and convicted in March 2022 on one charge of hiding information and lying to federal authorities about illegal contributions from a foreign national to his 2016 campaign, according to the DOJ.
He resigned at the request of then-House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). He got two years of probation instead of prison time.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) Collins was arrested for insider trading in August 2018 and charged with conspiracy, securities fraud, wire fraud and lying to the FBI, according to the DOJ.
He resigned from Congress in September 2019, a day before he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and lying to federal agents.
He was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2020. He was pardoned by then-President Trump soon after starting his sentence.
Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) Hunter was indicted in August 2018 with his wife for converting more than $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses and filing false records, according to the DOJ.
He pleaded guilty to one charge in December 2019, and resigned from Congress in January 2020. He was sentenced to 11 months in March 2020, and pardoned by Trump that year.
Rep. Corrine Brown (D-Fla.) Brown was indicted on fraud charges in July 2016 for a case involving an education charity. She lost her primary the next month. She was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison in 2017.
Sen. Bob Menendez Menendez has been through a similar ordeal before and survived — he was reelected to the Senate in 2018 by a wide margin. He was indicted in 2015 on corruption charges, but the case ended in a mistrial in November 2017, after a hung jury.
