(USNewsMag.com) – Controversial Republican Rep. George Santos of New York, who is currently on trial, told recently indicted Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey not to resign until he receives “due process.”
When an MSNBC reporter asked Santos what he thought about the charges against Menendez, he said he had no opinion on it because he thinks “due process is important” and that Menendez “has a right to defend himself,” adding that the New Jersey senator is “innocent until proven guilty.”
Santos said the media should “stop acting like” people are already guilty before a jury has even passed judgment, reiterating “innocent until proven guilty.” The disgraced congressman asked when people walked “away from the fabric of our Constitution” that established this concept. He concluded that he didn’t think Menendez should resign.
Menendez and his wife were indicted last week on Friday on charges of federal bribery in the form of cars, cash, and gold in exchange for using his political position to help three businessmen in New Jersey “enrich” themselves. The three businessmen were also indicted. They’re also accused of taking bribes from the Egyptian government.
Menendez’s home in New Jersey was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in June 2022. The FBI recovered two gold bars and nearly $500,000 in cash hidden away in envelopes, in clothing, and in other places around the senator’s residence.
Damian Williams, the South District of New York US attorney who handed down the indictment, said his office “is firmly committed to rooting out corruption” without party preferences and “will continue to do so.”
Menendez now has an ally across the fence as Santos deals with his own legal troubles. The New York representative was indicted in May on charges of money laundering, fraud, stealing public funds, and lying to the Department of Justice. He maintains his innocence.
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