Republican Senator Goes to Bat For Bob Menendez, Takes Swipe At Justice Department
AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) appeared to cross partisan lines and went to bat for his embattled colleague Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on Tuesday, arguing that the New Jersey senator should not buckle to calls from Democrats to resign amid corruption charges.
On Tuesday, Menendez’s fellow New Jersey senator, Cory Booker, called on him to step aside in a move many observers claimed was a key breaking of the dam in his support in both the state and the upper chamber. However, Cotton, went the other way and voiced his support for Menendez to fight it out, so as to not allow Democrats a chance to save face and “hold onto power.”
“The charges against Senator Menendez are serious and troubling. At the same time, the Department of Justice has a troubling record of failure and corruption in cases against public figures, from Ted Stevens to Bob McDonnell to Donald Trump to Bob Menendez the last time around,” wrote Cotton, adding:
Senator Menendez has a right to test the government’s evidence in court, just like any other citizen. He should be judged by jurors and New Jersey’s voters, not by Democratic politicians who now view him as inconvenient to their hold on power.
Menendez, alongside his wife, were charged on Friday with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right in a devastating indictment complete with photos of gold bricks and large amounts of cash retrieved from their home.
Senator Menendez has a right to test the government’s evidence in court, just like any other citizen. He should be judged by jurors and New Jersey’s voters, not by Democratic politicians who now view him as inconvenient to their hold on power.
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) September 26, 2023
Democratic Senators Peter Welch (VT), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Sherrod Brown (OH), Jon Tester (MT), Bob Casey (PA), Martin Heinrich (NM), Jacky Rosen (NV), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), and Elizabeth Warren (MA) have all called for Menendez to resign – as has former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
