Former Attorney General Eric Holder called on New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez (D) to step down on Friday after he was indicted on bribery charges.
“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 said on X, formerly Twitter. “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.”
Holder served in the Obama administration and has since been an advisor to the Democratic Party.
Prosecutors charged Menendez and his wife on Friday, alleging that they had a “corrupt relationship” with three New Jersey businessmen and accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes.
The FBI found about half a million dollars in cash and over $100,000 in gold bars in Menendez’s home last year during a raid, allegedly given to the senator and his wife by the businessmen.
Menendez has denied the allegations, calling them a “smear campaign.” He was investigated and charged in a separate previous bribery probe in 2015, but that case was dropped after a 2017 mistrial.
Reps. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) have also called on the senator to resign.
Menendez stepped down from his position as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Friday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced.
“Bob Menendez has been a dedicated public servant and is always fighting hard for the people of New Jersey,” Schumer said in a statement. “He has a right to due process and a fair trial.”
“Senator Menendez has rightly decided to step down temporarily from his position as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee until the matter has been resolved,” he added.
If Menendez chooses to resign from his seat, Gov. Phil Murphy (D) would appoint a new senator to finish the current term, which expires in January 2025.