New Jersey

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More than a dozen Senate Democrats have called for the resignation of their colleague Bob Menendez (New Jersey Senator) after an indictment was unsealed last week. In a statement on Tuesday (September 26), Senator Cory Booker called for Menendez, 69, to step down in the wake of federal corruption charges related to overseas dealings with Egypt. 

"Stepping down is not an admission of guilt but an acknowledgment that holding public office often demands tremendous sacrifices at great personal cost," the statement said. According to a report by Fox News on Tuesday, around 13 Senate Democrats called for Menendez to step down. 

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Apart from them, several members of the House have also called for the 69-year-old's resignation, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the report added.

Earlier, prosecutors charged Menendez and his wife with taking bribes from three New Jersey businessmen. They said that the senator accepted gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for wielding his influence to aid the Egyptian government and interfere with law enforcement investigations into the three businessmen.

Menendez vows to fight bribery charges

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On Monday, Menendez vowed to fight the corruption charges and denied any wrongdoing. Speaking to reporters, Menendez said, "A cornerstone of the foundation of American democracy and our justice system is the principle that all people are presumed innocent until proven guilty. All people. I ask for nothing more and deserve nothing less. The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system.”

“Instead of waiting for all the facts to be presented, others have rushed to judgment because they see a political opportunity for themselves or those around them. All I humbly ask for in this moment in my colleagues in Congress, the elected leaders, and the advocates of New Jersey that I have worked with for years, as well as each person who calls New Jersey home, is to pause and allow for all the facts to be presented,” he added. 

New Jersey businessman pleads not guilty to charges

Wael Hana, one of the New Jersey businessmen in the case, pleaded not guilty to charges of bribing Menendez. Hana, 40, entered the plea at a hearing before Magistrate Judge Ona Wang in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday.

Prosecutors said Hana, who is originally from Egypt, arranged meetings in 2018 between Menendez and Egyptian officials. At the meetings, officials pressed the senator to sign off on military aid Washington had withheld over concerns about the country's human rights record.

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