McConnell says he’s ‘glad’ Menendez not a Republican amid superseding indictment

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) said Sunday he is “glad” Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is not a Republican amid federal charges involving Menendez acting as a foreign agent to the Egyptian government in exchange for luxurious bribes.

Asked on “Fox News Sunday” if Menendez should resign amid his recent superseding indictment, McConnell said, “Well, I think that’s something [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer [D-N.Y.] and the Democrats have to decide how tot deal with. And I’m not going to give them advice about how to deal with it.”

“Let me just say this — I’m glad he’s not a Republican,” McConnell continued.

In a superseding indictment filed earlier this month, prosecutors allege Menendez conspired with his wife and New Jersey businessman Wael “Will” Hana to act as an agent of the Egyptian government between January 2018 and June 2022.

As a member of Congress, Menendez is prohibited by law from agreeing to be or acting as a foreign agent, even when registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), a law requiring any person acting in the U.S. as an “agent of a foreign principal” to register with the U.S. attorney general.

The superseding indictment said neither Menendez’s wife nor Hana were registered under the act.

Between 2020 and 2022, Menendez allegedly made multiple requests for the Justice Department to investigate others for failing to register under FARA, including an unnamed ex-member of Congress.

Menendez and his wife also face earlier charges from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York that allege the couple accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes from three businessmen in New Jersey in exchange for using the senator’s “power and influence” as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit the businessmen and Egypt’s government.

Menendez and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges last month.

The FBI discovered nearly $500,000 in cash stuffed in envelopes and hidden in clothing and closets, as well as more than $100,000 in gold bars, at Menendez’s home in a raid last year. 

Menendez previously told reporters that the cash found at his home was from his personal savings and was being kept at his home in case of emergency. 

Menendez has pushed back against the charges and insists he has no plans to step down from the upper chamber, despite calls from dozens of Democratic colleagues in the Senate and in New Jersey. 

The Senate powerbroker has dismissed the charges as “just allegations” and maintains he will be exonerated once the facts are presented. 

While not resigning from the Senate entirely, Menendez has stepped down from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while fighting his legal battle.

This is the second time the lawmaker has faced a federal indictment. The first ended in a mistrial in 2017.