Bob Menendez steps down as US Senate foreign relations chairman after indictment

[Social Media]

 

A veteran US senator has temporarily stepped down as head of the chamber's powerful foreign relations committee as he battles bribery charges.

Justice department prosecutors allege Robert Menendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for aid to Egypt's government.

The couple have denied the charges.

The embattled senator has rejected calls from fellow Democrats back in his home state of New Jersey to resign his seat.

Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said on Friday that Mr Menendez had decided to step down as chairman of the influential committee "until the matter has been resolved".

The New York Democrat said his colleague was "a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey".

 

• US Senator allegedly bribed with 'a lot of gold'

 

It is not the first time that Mr Menendez, 69, who has served in Congress since 2006, has had to step down from the coveted post on the foreign relations panel.

He also stepped down in 2015 after being indicted in New Jersey on charges that he had accepted bribes from a Florida eye doctor. That case ended in a mistrial after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Maryland Democrat Ben Cardin, who took over as the committee's leading Democrat at the time, is expected again to temporarily ascend to fill the vacancy.

Mr Menendez and his spouse, Nadine Arslanian, are accused of accepting bribes of cash, gold, payments towards a home mortgage and a luxury vehicle from three New Jersey businessmen.

 

FULL STORY

[placeholder]

More proof that the weaponized Justice Dept is baselessly persecuting Republican...oh wait a minute.

[Tug]

That is the correct and honorable thing to do as this matter runs through the courts,kinda blows the wind out of the Republicans sails as they are always crying about being a victim of (Joe Biden’s DOJ)

[radiochaser]

I heard menendez sold restricted and low level classified documents to Egypt!

Allegedly if true, then would that not be acting like a spy?



 

Edited September 23, 2023 by radiochaser

[radiochaser]

9 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

I heard menendez sold restricted and low level classified documents to Egypt!

Allegedly if true, then would that not be acting like a spy?



 

Well, it was only highly sensitive information. 

Although this information was not classified, it was deemed highly sensitive because it could pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or if made public.

As I remember it, when I had access to sensitive and classified documents, I would have gone to jail if I had done something like that!

[thaibeachlovers]

20 hours ago, radiochaser said:

I heard menendez sold restricted and low level classified documents to Egypt!

Allegedly if true, then would that not be acting like a spy?



 

I saw it on Al Jazeera. More like he was doing it for money or gold or such like.

I look forward to the trial.

 

[Chomper Higgot]

Put him to trial, if he’s found guilty lock him up, if he’s found innocent let him get back to work.

 

However, with now two allegations against him, replace him for a new candidate at the next election.

 

 

[Skipalongcassidy]

4 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Put him to trial, if he’s found guilty lock him up, if he’s found innocent let him get back to work.

 

Same could and should be said about Trump... without all the hate and vitriol... why the change of heart?

[Chomper Higgot]

3 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

Same could and should be said about Trump... without all the hate and vitriol... why the change of heart?

When have I ever said that the guilt or innocence of Trump should not be decided by a jury?

[placeholder]

32 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

Same could and should be said about Trump... without all the hate and vitriol... why the change of heart?

Well, unlike what so many Trump supporters contend about Trump, no one here is claiming that the prosecution of Menendez is a case of political persecution. Or are you seriously claiming that Trump supporters don't contend this about Trump?

[thaibeachlovers]

35 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

Same could and should be said about Trump... without all the hate and vitriol... why the change of heart?

It'll be interesting to see how many Trump haters come on to excuse this guy.

[Skipalongcassidy]

20 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Well, unlike what so many Trump supporters contend about Trump, no one here is claiming that the prosecution of Menendez is a case of political persecution. Or are you seriously claiming that Trump supporters don't contend this about Trump?

That is because the "far right" or "maga hats" or whatever you choose to call them are not delving into the persecution tactics that the liberal left and the Hateful 8 have used now for years... let me remind you that NEITHER man has been found guilty of anything as of yet... but Trump has been persecuted relentlesly.  Even you can see the difference... I would hope.

[Skipalongcassidy]

23 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It'll be interesting to see how many Trump haters come on to excuse this guy.

All of the Hateful 8 and a couple more... 

[Chomper Higgot]

40 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

It'll be interesting to see how many Trump haters come on to excuse this guy.

 

16 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

All of the Hateful 8 and a couple more... 

When you ignore a reality that doesn’t match your self inflicted grievance.

 

 

1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said:

Put him to trial, if he’s found guilty lock him up, if he’s found innocent let him get back to work.

 

However, with now two allegations against him, replace him for a new candidate at the next election.

 

 

 

[placeholder]

25 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

That is because the "far right" or "maga hats" or whatever you choose to call them are not delving into the persecution tactics that the liberal left and the Hateful 8 have used now for years... let me remind you that NEITHER man has been found guilty of anything as of yet... but Trump has been persecuted relentlesly.  Even you can see the difference... I would hope.

Have you forgotten already the birther movement? The one that was led by Donald Trump? What action on the left compares with that grotesque and ludicrous fantasy?

 

And what relevance do these alleged political persecutions whatever they may be, have to do with Justice department prosecutions? Deflecting much?

[Bkk Brian]

Oh the irony....lol

 

Trump demands all Senate Democrats resign over Bob Menendez scandal – despite his own slew of criminal cases

In a Truth Social rant on Sunday, the indicted former president weighed in on the federal criminal case against the New Jersey lawmaker and called on the entire Democratic party to stand down from the Senate over the scandal.

“Senate Democrats should all resign based on Senator Bob Menendez! They all knew what was going on, and the way he lived,” he ranted.

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-sen-bob-menendez-bribery-democrats-b2417918.html

[GypsyT]

Looking at his wife I think poor guy's been punished already.....

 

[bendejo]

There are GOP members who want him to stay.  They think they can kick his corrupt arz at the polls. 

 

[thaibeachlovers]

He was in court today to plead not guilty. Let the games commence.

[EVENKEEL]

On 9/23/2023 at 7:29 PM, placeholder said:

Have you forgotten already the birther movement? The one that was led by Donald Trump? What action on the left compares with that grotesque and ludicrous fantasy?

 

And what relevance do these alleged political persecutions whatever they may be, have to do with Justice department prosecutions? Deflecting much?

I have to show birth cert to renew DL in Nevada, is that persecution. ⁷

[placeholder]

4 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I have to show birth cert to renew DL in Nevada, is that persecution. ⁷

The fact is that even after Obama released his long form birth certificate in 2011, Trump continued to doubt it.

"Trump speculated that maybe Obama was hiding the fact that the birth certificate said he was Muslim, even though the so-called "long form" does not ask for religion. He claimed, without offering evidence, that he had hired investigators who "cannot believe what they're finding." To his credit, CNN's Anderson Cooper confronted Trump with the fact that there was no sign of any Trump-sponsored investigation in Hawaii."

https://archive.ph/1qiuD

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/a-look-at-trumps-birther-statements/2011/04/27/AFeOYb1E_blog.html

In fact, it wasn't until sept of 2016 that Trump acknowledged that Obama was born in the USA.

 

And your statement that you need a birth certificate to renew a Nevada Driver's License is false.

In fact, a birth certificate isn't even necessary to satisfy the standard necessary to obtain a REAL based driver's license even for the first time in Nevada, A REAL based driver's license requires a higher level of proof of identity than does a standard I.D..

https://dmv.nv.gov/dlresidency.htm

 

[Hanaguma]

Amazing how quickly the thread devolved into a "b-b-but Trump!" festival. 

 

As for Menendez, the envelopes of cash thoughtfully labelled "to Bob Menendez" and the one kilo gold bars might be a bit of a giveaway that something odd was going on.