Facing calls to resign from his Democratic colleagues in New Jersey, US Senator Robert Menendez defended his record and shot down allegations of wrongdoing in a press conference days after a sweeping federal indictment accused the chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee of engaging in a years-long bribery scheme.
A grand jury indictment unsealed in US District Court on 22 September includes photographs of thousands of dollars in cash in wrapped bills on top of jackets bearing the senator’s name. Investigators allegedly discovered more than $480,000 in cash and $100,000 at his home.
