After four days of silence, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey is calling for his indicted colleague, Sen. Bob Menendez, to resign.
“The details of the allegations against Sen. Menendez are of such a nature that the faith and trust of New Jerseyans as well as those he must work with in order to be effective have been shaken to the core,” Booker said in a written statement released on Tuesday.
Menendez, the senior senator and mentor to Booker, was indicted on Friday for the second time in his political career. Federal prosecutors say he took hundreds of thousands of dollars and lavish gifts in exchange for helping Egypt with weapons deals and aid, as well as for interfering with criminal prosecutions. In one case, they say he ghostwrote a letter from Egyptian officials seeking U.S. aid.
He held a press conference on Monday to assert his innocence and say that he would not resign. Gov. Phil Murphy, state Democratic party leaders and several members of the state’s congressional delegation called for Menendez to step down on Friday.
“Sen. 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,” Booker said in Tuesday’s statement. “Stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost. 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.”
Booker also praised the senior senator, saying he’d witnessed “his extraordinary work and boundless work ethic.” He described Menendez as “intellectually gifted, tough, passionate and deeply empathic,” and said they’d worked well together to benefit New Jerseyans..
Menendez, his wife and three businessmen will be arraigned in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday morning. In a…
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