Eric Holder Calls on Sen. Bob Menendez to Resign

Eric Holder, who led the Justice Department as attorney general under President Barack Obama, called on Sen. Bob Menendez to resign after the New Jersey Democrat and his wife were indicted on federal bribery charges Friday.

“As both a leader in the Democratic Party & the former Attorney General and given the nature of the charges, I call upon Senator Menendez to resign,” Holder wrote on X.com of the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “The nation will be better served if he steps aside and allows a transition to occur that will best serve the people of New Jersey.”

Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were indicted in New York in connection to their alleged “corrupt relationship” with a trio of businessmen and to “benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt.” 

The indictment — published first by the New York Times — states that Menendez faces three counts: Conspiracy to Commit Bribery in violation of Section 201(b)(2)(A) and (C) under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, Conspiracy to Commit Honest Service Fraud under Sections 1343 and 1346 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, and Conspiracy to Commit Extortion Under Color of Official Right under Section 1951(b)(2) and Section 1951(b)(3) of Title 18.

The senator and his wife’s codefendants are Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes.

Damian Williams, who serves as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, laid out the eyebrow-raising allegations against Menedez in a press conference.

“The indictment alleges that through that relationship, the senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for Senator Menendez using his power and influence, to protect and to enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt,” Williams told reporters. “The indictment alleges that Hana Uribe, and Dabies, provided bribes in the form of cash, gold, home mortgage payments, a low show or no show job for Nadine Menendez, Mercedes Benz and other things of value to the senator and his wife.”

Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich shared photos from the indictment of the gold bars and envelopes in cash.

Menendez was indicted on corruption charges in 2015, however a mistrial was declared in 2017 as the jury failed to reach a verdict on all counts.

The New Jersey Democrat is up for reelection next year.

The lawmaker has served in the Senate since 2006.