Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., renewed calls to expel embattled Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., after the latest round of federal bribery charges alleged he accepted gifts and race car tickets in exchange for aiding Qatar.
‘Now, accused of selling his honor and our nation for a $24,000 watch,’ Fetterman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘Accused as a foreign agent for *two* nations. How much more before we finally expel [Sen. Menendez]?’
Fetterman initially called on Menendez to resign in September after the first indictment.
‘Senator Menendez should resign. He’s entitled to the presumption of innocence under our system, but he is not entitled to continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations. I hope he chooses an honorable exit and focuses on his trial,’ Fetterman said in a statement at the time.
Then, in December, he stepped up his rhetoric against Menendez and called for his expulsion after Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., was expelled from the House after federal officials indicted him on 23 counts related to wire fraud, identity theft, falsification of records, credit card fraud and other charges.
‘But to me, I think the more important picture is that we have a colleague in the Senate that has actually did more sinister and serious kinds of things. Sen. Menendez. He needs to go,’ Fetterman told the hosts on ABC’s ‘The View.’
‘And if you are going to expel Santos, how can you allow somebody like Menendez to remain in the Senate?
‘And you know, Santos’ lies were almost funny, and like he, you know, landed on the moon. That kinda stuff. Whereas, you know, Menendez, I think is really a senator for Egypt, not New Jersey,’ he said.
According to a superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday, Menendez is now accused of accepting bribes and gifts in exchange for helping to benefit Qatar as part of a yearslong corruption scheme from 2021 through 2023, one year longer than originally thought, the Justice Department said.
His attorney, Adam Fee, said the new allegations ‘stink of desperation.’
‘Despite what they’ve touted in press releases, the government does not have the proof to back up any of the old or new allegations against Senator Menendez,’ Fee said. ‘What they have instead is a string of baseless assumptions and bizarre conjectures based on routine, lawful contacts between a senator and his constituents or foreign officials. They are turning this into a persecution, not a prosecution.’
He added that the senator acted appropriately with respect to Qatar, Egypt and other countries he interacts with.
Menendez is already facing federal charges for allegedly acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes to benefit the Egyptian government through his power and influence as a senator.
Fox News’ Louis Casiano and David Spunt contributed to this report.
