Sen. Bob Menendez took to the Senate floor Tuesday to defend himself against the latest charges he faces, maintaining that he is innocent and warning colleagues that they could be next if prosecutors can turn typical congressional actions into criminal acts.
The New Jersey Democrat, who stepped down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee after being indicted last fall on bribery and corruption charges, said the Justice Department created a “danger” by alleging that a sitting member of Congress was acting as a foreign agent.
“This is an unprecedented accusation, and it has never, ever been levied against a sitting member of Congress — never — and for good reason. It opens a dangerous door for the Justice Department to take the normal engagement of members of Congress with foreign governments and to transform those engagements into a charge of being a foreign agent for that government,” he said. “I want to address the accusations as they relate to me, but I don’t want you to lose sight of how dangerous this precedent will be to all of you.”
