Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) will not attend a classified briefing on Israel this week amid accusations that he acted as an unregistered foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
“He will not be attending tomorrow’s briefing,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) told reporters Tuesday, declining to elaborate on whether it was his decision or that of the New Jersey Democrat. .
“I’ve had private conversations, I don’t get involved in what happened in them, in these types of things,” Schumer said. “He won’t be attending.”
Menendez, 69, was charged earlier this month with unlawfully acting as a foreign agent for Egypt after previously being indicted in September on corruption charges related to his alleged pocketing of hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold bars and other bribes in exchange for his influence as a senator.
The embattled senator, who has faced calls to resign from several of his Senate Democratic colleagues, says it was his decision not to attend Wednesday’s classified briefing.
“I made my own decision not to attend,” Menendez told reporters Tuesday, according to his spokesperson. “After 30 years of doing foreign policy and [being] “Intimately involved in our relationship with Israel, I am not going to hear anything in a classified hearing that is going to alter my view of what needs to be done.”
Menendez says it was his decision not to attend Wednesday’s classified Senate briefing on Israel. AP Menendez is accused of accepting bribes, which included gold bars, cash and a luxury convertible. Steven Hirsch
Menendez had previously told Politico, before Schumer’s announcement, that he had not made a decision on whether he would attend the briefing.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who on Sept. 23 became the first Democratic senator to call for Menendez to resign, expressed concern about the possibility of the accused New Jersey Democrat participating in the briefing on Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists. .
“Would it be uncomfortable to attend a classified briefing about Israel when you have been accused of being a foreign agent from, say, a country like Egypt? Asking for a friend,” Fetterman tweeted.
The Pennsylvania Democrat, who last week called on the full Senate to vote on a resolution to expel Menendez, tweeted a sarcastic “Family Guy” GIF after Scumer’s announcement, with the caption: “What? Oh, nooo.”
Menendez faces decades in prison if convicted of all charges. United States Attorney’s Office
Menendez stepped down as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in September, hours after his indictment on bribery charges, but continues to serve on the powerful panel.
Menendez, who has served in the Senate since 2006, has vehemently proclaimed his innocence, rejected calls to resign and has not ruled out running for re-election next year.
“Throughout my life I have been loyal to only one country: the United States of America, the land my family chose to live in democracy and freedom,” Menéndez said after foreign agent charges were filed against him. not recorded last week.
“Picking new charges on top of new charges does not make the allegations true. The facts haven’t changed, just a new charge. It is an attempt to wear someone down and I will not succumb to this tactic. “I once again ask the people who know me and my history to give me the opportunity to present my defense and prove my innocence,” he added.
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