Cory Booker: Menendez Must Resign or Face Expulsion

Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) said Tuesday during MSNBC’s coverage of the Republican National Convention that his colleague Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) must resign or face expulsion after being found guilty on 16 felony counts, including bribery and extortion.

Host Rachel Maddow said, “Your nearest senate colleague, your fellow to New Jersey Senator, was found guilty on 16 federal charges of corruption including bribery, and today you again called for him to resign and want to get your reaction to that verdict. I want to hear from you what you expect to happen here in the case of the senator.

Booker said, “Bob is a figure that those people from New Jersey know and he has been working in public life for decades. This is a painful day of real heartbreak and frankly deep disappointment with the jury sworn to objectivity and a jury of his peers found by the highest criminal standard beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty on all 16 charges. Yes, he must stand up now and leave the Senate. He must do that. If he refuses to do that, many of us, and I will now lead that effort to make sure he is removed from the Senate.”

Maddow said, “Meaning you would lead the effort to expel him from the Senate if he refuses to resign?”

Booker said, “Absolutely, it is the right and just thing to do.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN

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