Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, plans to address the media Monday morning, the first time he has spoken publicly since federal prosecutors accused him of bribery last week.
Mr. Menendez was originally expected to speak from Union City, the city where he was most politically prominent.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan on Friday released a 39-page indictment accusing him and his wife, Nadine Menendez, of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from the Egyptian government and business associates in New Jersey in exchange for using his political influence. .
During a June 2022 search of a safe deposit box and the couple’s home in Englewood Cliffs, investigators found $550,000 in cash and 13 gold bars.
The indictment charges Mr. Trump with persuading state and federal prosecutors to go easy on his accomplices in three criminal cases involving aid and arms sales to Egypt.
Until Senate Democrats stepped aside on Friday under rules governing themselves, Mr. Menendez was chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Accused in bribery conspiracy Mr. Menendez, his wife and three New Jersey businessmen are expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday to answer to the charges.
The Governor of New Jersey, Mr. A close associate of Menendez, Philip D. Murphy called for the senator’s resignation Friday evening, unleashing a chorus of similar messages from fellow Democratic leaders across the state.
On Saturday, Rep. Andy Kim, a third-term Democrat from South Jersey, said Mr. He said he would challenge Menendez.
“It’s not what I expected, but NJ deserves better,” said Mr. Kim said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “We cannot influence the Senate or compromise our integrity.”
It’s a marked departure from 2017, when most Democratic leaders supported Mr. While Menendez stood firm on his side, he was charged in federal court in New Jersey with bribing a wealthy doctor in exchange for political gains.
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision, and the Justice Department refused to retry him after a judge dismissed the most serious charges.
