Bob Menendez

Subterms

    More stories

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in US Politics

      Cory Booker joins calls for Menendez to resign after bribery charges

      by

      In a significant blow to Bob Menendez’s hopes of staying in the US Senate while under indictment for corruption, Cory Booker – his fellow New Jersey Democrat – joined calls for the senator to resign.“The details of the allegations against Senator 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 on Tuesday.Booker, who has been in the US Senate since 2013, added: “I believe stepping down is best for those Senator Menendez has spent his life serving.”By early afternoon, more than a dozen Democratic senators had called for Menendez to quit.Menendez, 69, was elected to the Senate in 2006. He survived a previous corruption investigation, which was dropped in 2017 after a jury failed to reach a verdict.Last week, Menendez was charged with using his position as chair of the Senate foreign relations committee to profit by assisting the government of Egypt, through three businessmen in his home state.The senator and his wife are alleged to have taken bribes including gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz car and more than $500,000 in cash.On Monday, speaking to reporters in Union City, Menendez said the cash was from his savings.“For 30 years,” he said, “I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings accounts, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.“Now this may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings accounts based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years. I look forward to addressing other issues in trial.”He did not mention the gold bars or the car or say if he planned to seek re-election. He ignored questions from reporters.“Everything I’ve accomplished, I’ve worked for despite the naysayers and everyone who has underestimated me,” Menendez said.“I recognise 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 still will be New Jersey’s senior senator.”To those calling for his resignation, he said: “The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system. Those who rushed to judgment, you have done so based on a limited set of facts framed by the prosecution to be as salacious as possible. Remember, prosecutors get it wrong.”Then, only one Democratic senator, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, had joined influential Democrats including the governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, and the New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in calling for Menendez to quit.Many observers turned their gaze to Booker, a Menendez ally and high-profile Democrat who ran for the party’s presidential nomination in 2020.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionPolitico observed: “Menendez might stick around no matter what Booker says, but if Booker calls for Menendez’s resignation it will make it safer and easier for every other Democrat who has remained mum to do the same. On the other hand, a supportive statement from Booker will be worth its weight in gold.”On Tuesday, Booker followed other Democratic senators – Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Peter Welch of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Jacky Rosen of Nevada – in saying Menendez should go.“For nearly a decade,” Booker said, “I’ve worked in the Senate alongside Senator Menendez … I’ve witnessed his extraordinary work and boundless work ethic. I’ve consistently found Senator Menendez to be intellectually gifted, tough, passionate and deeply empathic. We have developed a working relationship and a friendship.”Saying the new indictment “contains shocking allegations of corruption and specific, disturbing details of wrongdoing”, Booker said he found that “hard to reconcile with the person I know”. He expected Menendez to mount “a vigorous defence”, he said.But, he said, “there is [a] higher standard for public officials, one not of criminal law but of common ideals. As senators, we operate in the public trust … The allegations against Senator Menendez are of such a nature that the faith and trust of New Jerseyans as well as those he must work with … have been shaken to the core.“… 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.”Other Democratic senators followed in Booker’s footsteps.They included Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Michael Bennet of Colorado, Mark Kelly of Arizona, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.Jon Tester of Montana, a senator widely seen as vulnerable in his re-election fight next year, said: “I’ve read the detailed charges against Senator Menendez and find them deeply disturbing.“While he deserves a fair trial like every other American, I believe Senator Menendez should resign for the sake of the public’s faith in the US Senate.” More

    • 200 Shares159 Views

      in US Politics

      Bob Menendez says money found in police search was for personal use – as it happened

      by

      From 5h agoOne of the most striking aspects of Robert Menendez’s indictment was photos showing bundles of cash that investigators found in his home during a search last year.Prosecutors say the senator and his wife accepted bribes from agents of the Egyptian government, and investigators found a total of $480,000 stuffed in a safe, clothing and closets throughout his home.In his press conference, the senator addressed the money. “For 30 years, I have withdrawn 1000s of dollars in cash from my personal savings accounts, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” said Menendez, whose parents are from the island.“Now this may seem old fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings accounts based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years. I look forward to addressing other issues in trial.”In a defiant speech to reporters, New Jersey’s Democratic senator Robert Menendez rejected charges brought against him by federal prosecutors, who claimed he illegally used his position to help the Egyptian government in exchange for bribes. Menendez made clear he would not step down, but remained vague about whether he’d run for re-election, while saying the cash investigators turned up at his house was merely for emergencies. Joe Biden’s spokeswoman, meanwhile, declined to say if the president believes the senator should resign, but an increasing number of Democratic lawmakers think he should.Here’s what else happened today:
      Donald Trump teased buying a Glock pistol while campaigning in South Carolina, which may have violated federal law. He ultimately did not go through with the purchase.
      The president welcomed the leaders of Pacific island nations to the White House, in a bid to build alliances against China’s influence.
      John Fetterman, the first senator to call for Menendez to resign, gave back money the New Jersey lawmaker donated to his campaign.
      Biden cheered a tentative agreement to end the Hollywood writers’ strike, ahead of his visit planned for tomorrow to a United Auto Workers picket line in Michigan.
      Trump will skip Wednesday’s debate of Republican presidential candidates to make his own visit to striking autoworkers in Michigan.
      During a campaign speech in South Carolina, Donald Trump attempted to shout out the state’s Republican senator Lindsey Graham, only to find his name attracted boos:It’s unclear what the boos were about. Graham is one of the more well-known conservatives in the Senate, though he has broken with some in the Trump wing of the party with his steadfast support for continued American aide to Ukraine.Punchbowl News reports that a Republican-controlled House panel plans to vote on Wednesday on releasing new whistleblower documents concerning Hunter Biden:The House will hold their first hearing of their impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden that day, which centers on unverified allegations of corruption against the president. His son’s business activities have been at the heart of those claims, but despite months of investigation, the GOP has yet to turn up proof that the elder Biden was involved in or benefited from his son’s overseas business dealings.In July, two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers told the House oversight committee the Biden administration meddled in a Donald Trump-appointed US attorney’s investigation of Hunter Biden, however CNN reports that other IRS and FBI officials who spoke to investigators have disputed those claims.A Charleston Post and Courier reporter who attended Donald Trump’s campaign event today reports the former president did not go through with his purchase of a Glock pistol:Thus sidestepping the potential violation of federal law – or perhaps, newly permissible activity made possible by the supreme court’s conservative majority and its friendliness to public gun carrying – that would have followed.Donald Trump, campaigning in South Carolina, appears to have bought a Glock pistol – which may or may not be illegal under federal law.The former president and current frontrunner in the race for the GOP’s presidential nomination is on a successful swing through the Palmetto state, where he today announced he had received the endorsements from several of its top Republicans, including attorney general Alan Wilson, state House majority leader Davey Hiott and secretary of state Mark Hammond. The state’s governor Henry McMaster and its lieutenant governor have already endorsed him, in something of a blow to two other South Carolinians in the presidential race, senator Tim Scott and former governor Nikki Haley.In a now-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Trump’s campaign spokesman Steven Cheung posted a video where the former president poses with the pistol and says he wants to buy one.As NBC News reports, if he went through with the purchase, that would seem to break a federal law banning people who are under indictment – like Trump – from buying a weapon. But because of a supreme court decision last year expanding the ability of people to carry concealed weapons, judges have lately said that law is no longer valid:Joe Biden today welcomed the leaders of Pacific island nations to the White House in a bid to counter China’s courtship of the strategically important region. Here’s more on the visit’s significance, from the Guardian’s Siosifa Pomana and Julian Borger:Joe Biden has offered $40bn in economic aid to Pacific islands at a White House meeting with leaders from the region aimed at bolstering US engagement in the face of growing a growing Chinese presence.The president also announced formal US recognition of two new island nations, the Cook Islands and Niue, at the start of the Pacific Islands Forum, two days of Washington meetings with leaders from the group’s 18 members.“The United States committed to ensuring an Indo-Pacific region that is free, open, prosperous and secure. We’re committed to working with all the nations around this table to achieve that goal,” Biden said at the forum’s welcoming ceremony.The visiting leaders having been feted by the administration, brought down from New York where most attended the UN general assembly, on a special train to Baltimore where they were take to an American football game at the Baltimore Ravens’ stadium. There they were brought out on field and celebrated for “for their roles as American friends in the Indo-Pacific”.The Pacific leaders were also taken onboard a US Coast Guard cutter in Baltimore Harbor and they were briefed by the Coast Guard commandant, Adm Linda Fagan, on operations to combat illegal fishing and manage maritime domains. Over the next two days they will meet top members of the administration. The secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield will host a dinner for the visitors on Monday night, and on the second night, the Australian embassy will host a barbecue.“I think what the Biden administration has been able to do is to step up our game considerably in a short period of time in the Indo-Pacific,” a senior administration official said. “We have deep moral, strategic and historic interests here. And I think we’re reaffirming that promise.”White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre dodged the question when asked whether Joe Biden believes Bob Menendez should resign his Senate seat.From her press conference today:Far-right Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has drawn ridicule for using an image of a Hanukah menorah in an attempt to commemorate the unrelated Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.Green on Sunday posted a message on X – previously known as Twitter – on Sunday wishing observers a meaningful fast for Monday’s observation of Yom Kippur. She tried to add a traditional Yom Kippur greeting but misspelled it: “Gamar Chasima Tova!”The backlash soon ensued.Critics noted that Greene’s use of a menorah in her message recognized a completely unrelated Jewish holiday observed in December. Past comments of hers which alluded to antisemitic tropes also undermined her message to Jewish observers.Greene subsequently deleted the original post without an apology and reposted the original text without the menorah image.John Fetterman,the first senator to call for Robert Menendez to resign, said he plans to give back the $5,000 that he received from the New Jersey senator towards his 2022 campaign.The Pennsylvania senator wants to return the donation in envelopes full of hundred-dollar bills, the Messenger reported. “We are in process of returning the money,” said a spokesperson for Fetterman, “in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills.”Republican Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom will take part in a televised debate on 30 November.The 90-minute debate will be moderated by Fox News host Sean Hannity and air on Hannity’s 9pm prime-time program.In a statement issued through the network, Hannity said he is “looking forward to providing viewers with an informative debate about the everyday issues and governing philosophies that impact the lives of every American.”DeSantis is also scheduled to also participate in the second GOP primary debate on Wednesday. Donald Trump, the clear frontrunner in the Republican race, will not attend.Observers reacted toDonald Trump’s threat to NBC, MSNBC and Comcast with a mixture of familiarity and alarm.In a statement, Andrew Bates, White House deputy press secretary, said:
      To abuse presidential power and violate the constitutional rights of reporters would be an outrageous attack on our democracy and the rule of law. Presidents must always defend Americans’ freedoms – never trample on them for selfish, small and dangerous political purposes.
      Elsewhere, Paul Farhi, media reporter for the Washington Post, pointed to Trump’s symbiotic relationship with outlets he professes to hate, given that only last week Trump was “the featured interview guest last week on Meet the Press, the signature Sunday morning news program on … NBC”.Others noted that on Monday night, the former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson, a key witness for the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on Congress, which Trump incited, was due to be interviewed on MSNBC.Sounding a louder alarm, Occupy Democrats, a progressive advocacy group, said Trump had gone “full fascist” with an “unhinged Sunday-night rant”. More

    • 163 Shares129 Views

      in US Politics

      Bob Menendez says cash found in bribery raid was ‘personal savings’ – video

      by

      Saying he would not resign after being indicted on corruption charges, the embattled New Jersey Democratic senator Bob Menendez told reporters that $480,000 in cash found in a safe, clothing and closets at his home was kept there for emergency personal use. ‘For 30 years,’ Menendez said, ‘I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings accounts, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.’ Under an indictment unsealed last week, Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, 56, were accused of using his seat in the Senate, as chair of the foreign relations committee, to benefit the government of Egypt More

    • 175 Shares169 Views

      in US Politics

      Bob Menendez refuses to quit and says $480,000 in cash was for personal use

      by

      Insisting he would not resign after being indicted on corruption charges, the embattled New Jersey Democratic senator Bob Menendez told reporters that $480,000 in cash found in a safe, clothing and closets at his home was kept there for emergency personal use.“For 30 years,” Menendez said, “I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings accounts, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.”The senator’s parents are from Cuba though he was born in New York. Last week, he said: “It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat.” In Union City, New Jersey, on Monday, Menendez spoke in English and in Spanish. A group of people he said were “everyday people and constituents who know me” stood behind him as he spoke.The senator continued: “Now this may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings accounts based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years. I look forward to addressing other issues in trial.”Under an indictment unsealed last week, Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, 56, were accused of using his seat in the Senate, as chair of the foreign relations committee, to benefit the government of Egypt.Prosecutors described how the large sums of cash were found at Menendez’s New Jersey home, as well as actual gold bars. A Mercedes-Benz car is also at issue. Three businessmen have also been charged.In his remarks on Monday, Menendez did not mention the gold bars. Nor did he respond to reporters’ questions. His wife did not attend.Menendez beat a previous corruption investigation. Ending in 2018, a five-year examination of the senator’s relationship with a Florida eye doctor began with unsubstantiated allegations about consorting with prostitutes and resulted in a bribery indictment. Menendez denied wrongdoing. After a jury failed to reach a verdict, the investigation was dropped.Since the new indictment was unveiled, leading Democrats including the governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, and the New York progressive representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have called for Menendez to resign.But in the Senate, only John Fetterman of Pennsylvania had called for his colleague to quit by the time Menendez stepped out to face reporters on Monday.“Everything I’ve accomplished, I’ve worked for despite the naysayers and everyone who has underestimated me,” said Menendez, 69.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotion“I recognise 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 still will be New Jersey’s senior senator.”To those who have called for his resignation, he said: “The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system.“Those who rushed to judgment, you have done so based on a limited set of facts framed by the prosecution to be as salacious as possible. Remember, prosecutors get it wrong.”On social media, Fetterman seemed to dismiss Menendez’s claim to have kept so much cash for emergency use.“We have an extra flashlight for our home emergencies,” Fetterman said. More