The New Jersey Senator, Menendez, was a First-Generation Latino to Remain a U.S. Senator

For his part, Menendez has aggressively defended himself against what he has characterized as a politically motivated and racist prosecution against the first Latino senator to represent New Jersey in the Senate. In a press conference on Monday, Menendez said he would not resign but he did not commit to running for reelection. The second time the New Jersey Democrat was indicted, a different case ended in a mistrial and the government decided to not try him again. The Senate’s Democratic leader held up his hands and endorsed Menendez at the time.

During a news conference on Monday, Menendez claimed that he was staying in the Senate, despite the hundreds of thousands of dollars that the F.B.I. agents found at his house. He said he kept it for emergencies, because of his family’s history in Cuba. Apparently, he wants us to believe that he is hedging against the communist revolution in America because of his intergenerational trauma. (Ironically, his family now, indeed, faces government confiscation.) He also claimed to be the victim of racist persecution by those who “simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. senator” — a deployment of identity politics so audaciously cynical, it belongs in a caustic TV farce, some deranged mash-up of “Veep” and “The Sopranos.”

It is a significant step for Booker, who works closely with Menendez, to demand the resignation of his fellow senator. His announcement is part of a flood of statements from Democrats.

While he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, he needs to resign from public office because it demands a higher standard of conduct.

The Charges in the Indictment that A New Jersey Co-conspirator Leaked in a Bribery Campaign against the Governor and the Speaker of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee

The two were charged in an indictment last week that claimed Menendez allegedly accepted luxury goods and large sums of money in bribes in exchange for committing corrupt acts, including providing sensitive information to the government of Egypt.

Menendez is also facing tremendous pressure at home in New Jersey to step aside. Assembly members and members of the house delegation called for the governor’s resignation, as did Andy Kim who stated that he will challenge the congressman in the Democratic primary if he does not leave Congress before then.

The mounting calls put pressure on party leadership, including President Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to take a position. So far, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has called it a “serious matter” but the president has not personally weighed in on resignation calls. In a statement last week, Schumer said Menendez “has a right to due process and a fair trial” and supported his decision to relinquish his post as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

He can’t continue foreign travel once he’s free from a $100,000 bail but he can keep his official passport, and he has to give over his personal passport.

Their alleged coconspirators, New Jersey businessmen Fred Daibes, a real estate developer, Wael Hana and Joseph Uribe were also named in that same indictment and are facing two charges each.