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Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, has been accused of accepting expensive bribes in return for political favors. He recently announced that he will not run for re-election.
On Thursday, Mr Menendez released a nine-minute video announcing that he will not seek reelection due to ongoing allegations surrounding a lengthy bribery scandal. He did not completely disregard the option of running as an independent candidate following his court case.
“I regret that I am currently facing unjust accusations, but I will prove my innocence. However, this hinders me from engaging in meaningful discussions and debates with my political opponents who have chosen to center their campaign around this issue. The people of New Jersey deserve better.” These were the statements made by Mr. Menendez.
“I have hope that I will be cleared of all charges this summer, allowing me to run as an independent Democrat in the general election.”
The announcement was made a few days before the deadline for primary candidates to submit their candidacy applications.
During the video, Mr Menendez dedicated a significant portion of time to discussing his achievements since being elected to serve as a representative for the state of New Jersey in 2006.
Senator Bob Menendez declares that he will not seek re-election to the Senate in the future.
In September, Mr. Menendez, along with his wife Nadine Menendez and two businessmen from New Jersey, were accused of participating in a bribery plot and were indicted.
The couple, Mr and Ms Menendez, are alleged to have received large sums of cash, gold bars, valuable jewelry, and a Mercedez-Benz convertible as bribes. These bribes were in exchange for political favors that benefited the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
In March, the prosecutors filed a new indictment against Mr Menendez, accusing him of attempting to conceal the bribes as “loans.”
It is anticipated that Mr. Menendez will face trial in May.
The senator from New Jersey was urged by his peers, including Senator Cory Booker, to resign after being indicted.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Majority Leader of the Senate Chuck Schumer rebuked Mr. Menendez.
He stated that Menendez did not meet the standards of the Senate and this is a great disappointment, but he did not request for him to be removed from office.
The charges also sparked a contentious competition among Democratic candidates to take over for Mr. Menendez. Democratic Representative Andy Kim gained backing from grassroots supporters, while Tammy Murphy, New Jersey’s First Lady and spouse of Governor Phil Murphy, garnered support from many establishment Democrats in the state.
The Senate seat in this heavily democratic state is highly likely to be won by a Democrat. In the year 2018, Mr. Menendez effortlessly secured his re-election after a mistrial regarding corruption accusations.
The charges against Mr. Menendez compelled him to resign as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
This is a developing news story, more updates to come…
Source: independent.co.uk
