Officials are calling for the resignation of Democratic New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez following several federal charges for bribery.
Among those calling for the removal of Menendez from his post is fellow Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who said that he should resign because of the “extremely serious” federal charges he faces.
During an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Ocasio-Cortez was questioned by host Margaret Brennan about democratic politics.
“You were outspoken about George Santos, the New York congressman and said he should resign because of all the legal issues and ethical issues he was facing. Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, as you know, has just been indicted on bribery charges. Should he resign? And what do you think of his statement that it has to do with him being a Latino?” Brennan asked.
To which the New York congresswoman responded, “Well, you know, I think it’s- the situation is quite unfortunate, but I do believe that it is in the best interest for Senator Menendez to resign in this moment. As you mentioned, consistency matters. It shouldn’t matter whether it’s a Republican or a Democrat. The details in this indictment are extremely serious. They involve the nature of, of not just his but all of our seats in Congress. And while you know, as a Latina, there are absolutely ways in which there is systemic bias.”
This comes after reports that Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, sold between $200,000 and $400,000 in gold between April 2022 and June 2022.
The couple still owns between $100,000 and $250,000 in gold bullion. Menendez did not list the gold on his 2020 financial disclosure but amended that filing in March 2022 to list between $100,000 and $250,000 of the precious metal held by his businesswoman wife.
The suspicious sale has added a new layer to Menendez’s ongoing federal investigation, which revolves around suspicions that the company may have engaged in bribery to obtain licenses for exporting halal meat to Egypt.
Reporters have reached out to Menendez’s office for comment, but they have not immediately returned the request. It is worth noting that Menendez recently set up a legal defense fund, making payments totaling approximately $175,000 to lawyers from his campaign.
