Durbin won’t call for Menendez to step down amid bribery charges

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) on Sunday declined to call on Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to resign after his Democratic colleague was indicted on federal corruption and bribery charges.

In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Dana Bash, Durbin insisted that while the charges were “very serious,” Menendez is entitled to the presumption of innocence and that the decision of whether to resign must be made by Menendez and his constituents.

“This is a very serious charge. There’s no question about it. But it bears reminding us of what I’ve said about the indictments against Donald Trump, equally serious charges,” Durbin said when asked whether Menendez should resign. “These are, in fact, indictments that have to be proven. Under the rule of law, a person who is accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence. And it’s the responsibility of the government to prove that case.”

“I said that about Donald Trump. I’ll say the same thing about Bob Menendez,” Durbin said, referring to the four criminal indictments former President Trump faces. 

Durbin noted that Menendez stepped down from his post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but that “in terms of resignation, that’s a decision to be made by Sen. Menendez and the people of New Jersey.”

On whether Menendez should run for reelection, Durbin said: “Well, I can tell you that it’s a significant event, clearly it is. And whether or not he will run for reelection remains to be seen.”

Other House and Senate Democrats, as well as New Jersey’s governor and the state’s party chairman, called on Menendez to step down from his post Friday after a damning indictment revealed Menendez and his wife accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes to assist three New Jersey businessmen and interests in Egypt.