Menendez: ‘I haven’t been charged with anything’

Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.) on Monday dismissed speculation that he would step down as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee because of pending Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal corruption charges against him.

“You know what? I haven’t been charged with anything, so you guys are way ahead,” he told a mob of reporters.

{mosads}He also shrugged off suggestions by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and others that the corruption charges against him are political retribution for opposing the White House’s negotiations with Iran.

“That’s their speculation, not mine,” he said.

Menendez said Friday that he was not “going anywhere” despite reports that DOJ was moving to bring criminal corruption charges against him, likely concerning allegations that he used his office to advocate for an ophthalmologist friend from whom he had accepted plane trips to the Dominican Republic.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the Foreign Relations panel, told reporters it is “way too premature” to know whether Menendez will lose his top spot on the committee.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday said that, when it came to any decision regarding the New Jersey lawmaker’s seniority, it would be up to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) “to make that call.”