TRENTON, NJ (TIP): Gov. Phil Murphy and other top New Jersey Democrats late Friday called on Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, the state’s senior senator, to resign hours after prosecutors announced he was indicted on bribery and influence peddling charges, according to NJ.com.

“The allegations in the indictment against Senator Menendez and four other defendants are deeply disturbing,” Murphy said in a statement. “These are serious charges that implicate national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system.

“Under our legal system, Senator Menendez and the other defendants have not been found guilty and will have the ability to present evidence disputing these charges, and we must respect the process. However, the alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state. Therefore, I am calling for his immediate resignation.”

In an emotional and defiant statement earlier in the day, Menendez made it clear he has no intention of stepping down and asked his supporters to give him time to debunk the “smear campaign” against him.

“Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. Senator and serve with honor and distinction,” Menendez said.

Murphy’s statements were followed by similar missives from the Democratic State Committee Chairman LeRoy J. Jones, Jr., state Senate President Nick Scutari, D-Union, and state Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex. U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist., called for Menendez to quit earlier in the day.

Jones said Menendez deserved “the same presumption of innocence that the U.S. Constitution guarantees to all Americans.” “But in the interest of ensuring that New Jerseyans continue to be granted the federal representation that they deserve, and to make sure that our party is able to keep its focus on the critical upcoming state legislative elections in November, I believe that the best course of action is for Senator Menendez to resign so that he can focus his full attention on his legal defense,” Jones’ statement said. Declaring it to be “a sad day for our state,” Scutari said: “Due to the severity of the charges brought against him today, I believe Senator Menendez must resign from office to pursue his defense and allow our state and our nation to move forward.”

Couglin said the charges against Menendez “go against everything we should believe as public servants. We are given the public’s trust, and once that trust is broken, we cannot continue.”

Public support for Menendez had already begun to slide even before the indictment was announced.

A Monmouth University poll a month ago revealed six out of 10 residents believe the federal investigation “has at least some impact on his ability to serve.” Even among Democrats, his approval numbers slipped eight points to 58% while his disapproval number increased 7 points to 23%, according to the poll.

These are among the considerations flabbergasted and frustrated party leaders were privately discussing Friday afternoon. Should they offer support for the three-term Senator or position someone else to run when Menendez’s term is up in January 2025? When he was indicted on corruption charges in 2015, Murphy and other party leaders quickly came to his defense. That case wound up in a mistrial in 2017 because the jury was deadlocked. Prosecutors declined to try him again, and Menendez won re-election in 2018.

This time, party leaders are weighing their options in a far more partisan landscape in America, and they are wary of enduring another trial and the negative publicity that follows, sources told NJ Advance Media.

The new charges seem more egregious, said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth Polling Institute, noting there are color photos in the indictment of gold bars and piles of cash that had been stuffed in Menendez’s pockets. He added that public sentiment is not on his side.

“Throughout that trial and into early 2018, he still had an even or slightly positive approval rating. What we found when we polled last month was it dropped significantly. While approval rating for Booker and Murphy also dropped, they hadn’t dropped among Democrats. Menendez has,” Murray said.

“The indictment itself has such clear images that I don’t see anyway going to reverse the downward trend,” he added. Murphy has the sole authority to name his successor to finish out Menendez’s term if the senator leaves office early. His term ends on Jan. 3, 2025.

Kim also issued a statement saying, “no one is above the law” and Menendez should resign.

“These allegations are serious and alarming. It doesn’t matter what your job title is or your politics — no one in America is above the law. The people of New Jersey absolutely need to know the truth of what happened, and I hope the judicial system works thoroughly and quickly to bring this truth to light,” Kim’s statement said.

“In the meantime, I don’t have confidence that the Senator has the ability to properly focus on our state and its people while addressing such a significant legal matter. He should step down.”

Hours after the indictment was unsealed, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Menendez would step down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee “until the matter has been resolved.”

Former state Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, D-Bergen, said prior to Murphy’s statement the party could not afford to wait for the outcome of the case.

“We have a corrupt former president and I think we can’t have a double standard,” she said, referring to former President Donald Trump, a Republican who is running for the White House again despite facing several indictments.
(Source: NJ.com)