Sen. Bob Menendez indicted again for corruption, allegedly had cash stuffed in coat, gold bars

[Tom Rinaldo]

31. Democrats virtually forced Franken to resign for far more tenuous reasons

Something similar happened regarding Gov. Cuomo in NY, although in that case the concerns were much more substantive than with Franken.

The same should happen now with Menendez. The matter should NOT be left in his hands to decide whether he should step aside or not. A lot of heat has been put on the Republican caucus in the House for allowing Rep. Santos to remain seated in the House while he is now under indictment. Now that shoe is on the other foot. It should be pointed out that this is the SECOND time Menendez has been indicted on similar charges, and that he was NOT Acquitted of the first charges, rather he was not found guilty of them due to a Hung Jury and the decision at that time by the Feds not to retry him on those charges. The current charges are serious and a very dark cloud now hangs over the head of Menandez. He can not effectively represent NJ under these circumstances and it is inconceivable that that cloud will lift any time soon.

Meanwhile Democrats are facing an uphill battle to retain Senate control in 2024 with the number of seats they will have to defend. Senate Majority leader Schumer should call on Menendez to resign. Fellow NJ Senator Booker should call on Menendez to resign. If he fails to resign leading Democrats should unite in recruiting a serious primary challenger to Menendez, and he should be made perfectly clear that he will be challenged by a serious candidate.

Menendez should announce that he is stepping aside, claiming to do so not because he is guilty of any crime (at least until such time as he may decide to accept a plea deal) but so that he can devote himself full time to "clearing" his "good name."