Menendez postpones Hispanic Heritage Month event amid charges

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) postponed his annual Hispanic Heritage Month event, which was slated to take place just two days after the New Jersey lawmaker was indicted on federal bribery, fraud and extortion charges. 

An announcement posted to the website of Union High School in New Jersey said the 13th Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration was postponed without providing a reason for the change. The school, which was expected to host the event, said it will announce a new date once it is confirmed.

Just days before charges against him were filed last Friday, Menendez announced actor and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda would serve as the keynote speaker at the event, which the senator’s office said “celebrates the diverse Hispanic cultures and diaspora communities that call America and New Jersey home.” 

The postponed event comes amid the political fallout from Menendez’s federal indictment.

The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York has accused Menendez and his wife Nadine of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes from three businessmen in New Jersey in exchange for using the senator’s “power and influence” to benefit the businessmen and Egypt.

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 at Menendez’s home in a raid last year. This is the second time the embattled lawmaker has faced a federal indictment. The first ended in a mistrial in 2015. 

Menendez has pushed back against the charges, telling reporters Monday he has no plans to step down despite repeated calls from several New Jersey congressmen. Menendez said New Jersey Democrats are making a mistake by calling on him to resign and that he fully expects to remain in the Senate in the coming years.

He also said the cash found at his home is from his personal savings account and that he takes out money to keep at home.

The New Jersey Democrat dismissed the charges as “just allegations” and maintained he will be exonerated once the facts are presented.

Menendez was serving as chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a role he has stepped down from while fighting his legal battle.