Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) should resign in light of the “extremely serious” charges he faces for bribery.
An unsealed indictment on Friday showed that Menendez was federally indicted by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York who are accusing the senator, his wife, and three New Jersey businessmen of various crimes connected to a bribery scheme in which the senator allegedly helped secure a meat contract with the Egyptian government. The senator denied the allegations in a defiant statement, though New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and other Democratic officials have called for Menendez’s resignation as the situation continues to unfold.
In a Face the Nation interview with CBS’ Margaret Brennan, Ocasio-Cortez was asked whether Menendez should resign, and what she thought about the senator chalking up the charges to him being a Latino.
“I think the situation is quite unfortunate, but I do believe that it is in the best interest for Senator Menendez to resign in this moment,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “Consistency matters. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a Republican or a Democrat. The details in this indictment are extremely serious. They involve the nature of not just his, but all of our seats in Congress.”
On the subject of Menendez attributing the allegations to his being Latino, Ocasio-Cortez said “As a Latina, there are absolutely ways in which there is systemic bias, but
“I want to emphasize that all people, they must be extended the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. That is the legal reality in our country,” she continued. “But when it comes to the political and the standard of dignity that we want to maintain for the public in the United States Congress, I do believe it is in the best interest.”
Watch above via CBS.