Sen. Bob Menendez to be arraigned as resignation calls grow louder

The New Jersey Democrat is set to appear before a federal judge in New York City on Wednesday morning alongside his wife Nadine, who was also charged in the indictment.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., is set to appear Wednesday before a federal judge in New York to formally respond to corruption charges alleging that he and his wife used his influence to pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.

Menendez, his wife, Nadine, and two co-defendants are scheduled to be arraigned in the morning. A third co-defendant was arraigned Tuesday and pleaded not guilty.

Since the indictment was unsealed Friday, Menendez has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, and he is expected to plead not guilty. But he faces a deluge of calls to resign from his Democratic colleagues in the Senate and at the local level in New Jersey. As of Tuesday night, two dozen of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate had called for him to step down.

Democratic senators call on Sen. Menendez to resignSept. 26, 202302:41Menendez has acknowledged the charges are “salacious,” but he predicted he would ultimately be exonerated.

The indictment alleges that federal investigators found over $480,000 in cash nestled away in the couple’s New Jersey home, “much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe.”