In an interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki” last night, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said that given the current political climate, U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) should resign given the severity of the allegations in his indictment.
Pelosi: It would probably be a good idea if Senator Menendez did resign pic.twitter.com/ulpKRsFNl6
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 26, 2023
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
” … The charges are formidable and if in fact we’re going to say that if you’re indicted you should resign, we have a situation in the House, as you know in the State of New York, that that would hold to,” Pelosi said on the TV program.
“But right now, sadly, because of the challenges we face, because of the skepticism that exists in our country about governance, we have this Republican party that doesn’t believe in governance, that doesn’t believe in science, wants to take down everything in order to give tax breaks to the wealthiest, we’ve got to stay focused on that, and for that reason, it would probably be a good idea if he did resign.”
Pelosi mentioned U.S. Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) legal troubles, specifically being accused of wire fraud and theft of public funds, who ironically is just one of two House members that have come out in support of Menendez – the other being his son, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8).
The majority of the New Jersey congressional delegation has called on Senator Menendez to resign, though U.S. Reps. Donald Payne (D-10) and Bonnie Watson Coleman both took a more neutral stance, while U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) has not commented at all.
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) are the most notable Democrats outside of New Jersey that have said Senator Menendez should vacate his post.
The three-count indictment charges Menendez and his wife with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color and official right.
They are accused of having a “corrupt relationship” with New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes. Those three are charged with the first two counts.
Overall, the indictment charges that the Menendezes accepted corrupt payments for their mortgage, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C300, $486,471 in cash, another $79,760 from the safe deposit box, two one-kilogram gold bars, and 11 one-ounce gold bars.
At a press conference yesterday, New Jersey’s senior senator provided an unorthodox explanation as to why he had so much cash at his Englewood Cliffs home.
“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars, in cash, from my personal savings account – which I have kept for emergencies and because of my family’s history of facing confiscation in Cuba.”
“This may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on my income I have lawfully derived over those 30 years. I look forward to addressing other issues at trial.”
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Instead of virtue signaling our superiority over magamorons slavishly obeying TFG, how about respecting “innocent until proven guilty”, pushing for a speedy trial, and relying on the primary process. Murphy will be in office until 2025, so there’s still time for him to appoint a replacement if necessary.