Sen. Menendez Pleads Not Guilty to Obstruction of Justice Charges

Facts

• Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) made his third appearance in Manhattan federal court on Monday to plead not guilty to charges in connection with a federal investigation into bribery allegations.¹
• This comes as the Democratic senator and his wife, Nadine, as well as New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were arraigned on a superseding indictment that added obstruction of justice charges to existing criminal counts.²
• Prosecutors claim that Menendez not only accepted bribes in exchange for official favors for businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar but also sought to disguise some of them as loans.³
• Earlier this month, New Jersey businessman Jose Uribe admitted to helping to pay for a Mercedes-Benz convertible for the Menendez as compensation for assistance in resolving a pair of criminal cases in the state, agreeing to cooperate with federal prosecutors.⁴
• According to a Monmouth University poll conducted with 801 New Jersey adults before a grand jury hit the senator with 12 new criminal charges, his approval rating among registered voters stands at just 16% and nearly two-thirds of residents want him to resign.⁵
• The New Jersey Globe reported last week, citing three sources with direct knowledge of his plans, that Menendez hasn't mobilized a team to get on the ballot for the Democratic primary ahead of a March 25 deadline.⁶

Sources: ¹CNN, ²FOX News, ³ABC News, ⁴WSJ, ⁵POLITICO and ⁶New Jersey Globe.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Newsweek. While Democrats do have a strong message against MAGA anti-democratic extremism in the run-up to the November elections, they can undermine that if a liability such as Sen. Menendez remains in their ranks. It's utterly contradictory that the party that stands for the rule of law in the US still accepts a sitting senator under federal indictment on bribery allegations. The party has a chance to do the right thing.
• Republican narrative, as provided by Washington Examiner. Set aside the fact that Democrats control the Senate, Republicans should do much more to expel the corrupt Menendez — particularly when compared to the GOP push to oust George Santos from the House. The GOP must take the bull by the horns and firmly expel Menendez from Congress and take a stand against corruption from the Democratic Party, which is barely hanging onto Senate control and knows it.

Predictions