JERSEY CITY, N.J. — New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is expected to speak out Monday for the first time since being indicted on federal bribery charges.
The Democrat will appear at an 11:30 a.m. press conference in Union City, Hudson County, where he started his political career. It comes as members of his own party are calling on him to step down.
Prosecutors say Menendez and his wife, Nadine, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from at least three businessmen.
RELATED: Prosecutors: Menendez, wife got gold bars, cash, Mercedes in “corrupt relationship”
“I’ve called on him, given the gravity of the charges, to step aside. I think right now — given how we’ve got elections coming up, there’s a lot of distractions obviously — giving the senator time to defend himself, I think what’s best is that he steps aside,” New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer told CNN.
“These are, in fact, indictments that have to be proven under the rule of law, a person who’s accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and it’s the responsibility of the government to prove that case,” said Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin. “I said that about Donald Trump, I’ll say the same thing about Bob Menendez.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is also on the growing list of leaders calling on the senator to resign.
Menendez said in a statement the claims are false and he will not step down from Congress. He is expected to appear in court Wednesday.
Over the weekend, Democratic Congressman Andy Kim announced he plans to challenged Menendez in the primary next year.
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