Sen. Bob Menendez Received’t Run for Re-election as a Democrat This Yr

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey introduced on Thursday that he wouldn’t run for re-election as a Democrat this yr, bowing to intense political strain and federal fees that place him on the heart of a global bribery scheme.

However in a nine-minute video posted on social media, Mr. Menendez, 70, insisted he can be exonerated at a trial scheduled to start in Could and he left the door open to operating as a political unbiased if he’s cleared.

“I am hopeful that my exoneration will take place this summer and allow me to pursue my candidacy as an independent Democrat in the general election,” he mentioned.

Nonetheless, Mr. Menendez’s determination to forgo the competitors for his occasion’s nomination amounted to a painful concession that his political profession was teetering on the sting.

He was all however sure to lose the June major for his personal seat. Almost each Democratic ally has deserted him in current months, and two outstanding Democrats — Consultant Andy Kim and Tammy Murphy, the spouse of Gov. Philip D. Murphy — are trouncing him in major polls.

“Unfortunately, the present accusations I am facing — of which I am innocent and will prove so — will not allow me to have that kind of political dialogue and debate with political opponents who have already made it a cornerstone of their campaign,” he mentioned within the video on Thursday.

A marketing campaign as an unbiased is unlikely to be a lot simpler, even when he have been to prevail in courtroom. It might additionally jeopardize Democrats’ already tenuous maintain on the Senate.

Though polls present that as many as three quarters of New Jersey voters consider Mr. Menendez is responsible of the fees towards him, he might nonetheless siphon sufficient votes from the Democratic nominee to tip a detailed race.

Even simply preserving the chance within the brief run, although, permits Mr. Menendez to proceed elevating cash to pay the attorneys representing him and his spouse, Nadine Menendez.

He had already spent $2.3 million from his marketing campaign account on authorized charges from October via December, federal filings present. He has spent at the least $295,000 extra from a separate legal defense fund. These prices are prone to spike within the weeks forward as his trial approaches.

Mr. Menendez’s authorized troubles have been a nonstop distraction since September when he and Ms. Menendez have been charged in an elaborate bribery scheme. Hours earlier than Mr. Menendez’s announcement, his spouse appeared in federal courtroom in Manhattan for a listening to on whether or not her attorneys can be precluded from representing her at trial due to a possible battle of curiosity.

Mr. Menendez’s daughter, Alicia Menendez, a news anchor on MSNBC, was on the air, filling in because the host of “Deadline: White House,” when particulars about her father’s announcement started to unfold.

Mr. Menendez’s announcement was the most recent twist within the slow-motion collapse of a person who simply six months in the past was seen as among the many strongest political figures in New Jersey and a number one nationwide voice on international coverage and immigration points.

Mr. Menendez successfully outran the law for decades as he rose from mayor of his hometown, Union Metropolis, to one of many nation’s first Cuban American members of Congress. He averted fees in a single federal felony inquiry. Then, after being indicted in 2015 on separate bribery fees, he averted conviction two years later when the trial ended in a hung jury and the federal government dropped the case after the choose dismissed essentially the most critical fees.

The case was expensive nonetheless. Mr. Menendez spent greater than $5 million on lawyers, and a little-known challenger bought nearly 40 percent of the vote within the Democratic major the subsequent yr. Celebration leaders rallied behind Mr. Menendez within the basic election, and he defeated his well-funded Republican opponent, Bob Hugin, by 11 percentage points.

Mr. Menendez insisted that historical past might repeat itself when federal prosecutors in Manhattan initiated the most recent spherical of fees in September. However longtime allies who had stood by him via his earlier travails concluded that this case was totally different and reduce their ties to him.

In July, earlier than the fees have been introduced, John F.X. Graham, a New Jersey insurance coverage govt and member of the Democratic Nationwide Committee, donated $10,000 to Mr. Menendez’s protection fund.

However Mr. Graham mentioned in an interview this week that he felt “betrayed and disappointed” after the main points of the federal government’s case towards Mr. Menendez emerged.

He mentioned he had instructed Mr. Menendez’s fund-raising advisor that he would by no means once more contribute. In response, he mentioned he bought a handwritten be aware from the senator assuring him he would “beat this thing.”

“Bob Menendez’s career is over,” mentioned Mr. Graham, who believes Mr. Menendez ought to resign. “It’s that simple and he just hasn’t admitted it to himself yet.”

An initial indictment final fall mentioned Mr. Menendez and his spouse had conspired with others to just accept gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and different lavish bribes in alternate for utilizing his place as chairman of the Senate International Relations Committee to aid a foreign power, Egypt, and throttle two criminal investigations in New Jersey.

The charging papers included images of the gold, wads of money and the Mercedes, all of which have been discovered throughout a search of the senator’s residence.

Within the months since then, prosecutors have added greater than a dozen fees, accusing Mr. Menendez and his spouse of plotting to have him act as a foreign agent, taking steps to aid another foreign nation, Qatar, and obstructing justice.

The couple and two different defendants have pleaded not responsible to all counts. However a fifth defendant, a former New Jersey insurance coverage dealer, pleaded guilty this month to attempting to bribe the couple with the Mercedes. In a setback for the senator’s protection, the previous dealer, Jose Uribe, has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Mr. Menendez, a talented and pugnacious political fighter, has accused these prosecutors of being overzealous and attempting to smear him, making his case directly to fellow senators and voters. His attorneys argue that the indictment criminalizes regular legislative exercise and flouts constitutional protections afforded to members of Congress.

These arguments might prevail in courtroom, however they’ve had little impact on the voters, Democratic officers and even some members of his personal workers who would have helped decide his political destiny.

Almost 75 p.c of New Jersey voters disapprove of Mr. Menendez’s Senate efficiency, a current Monmouth University poll discovered — roughly the identical proportion that contemplate him responsible.

In Washington, Mr. Menendez has been urged to resign by greater than half of the Senate’s Democrats. His longtime political adviser and a few key congressional workers members stop.

Again at residence, if he stays on the poll in November, he’ll most certainly face both Mr. Kim or Ms. Murphy, who’re locked in a extremely aggressive race for the Democratic nomination.

There are a number of Republican major contenders, together with a mayor and a former tv reporter, each of whom have endorsed former President Donald J. Trump because the occasion’s standard-bearer this yr, and a resort developer from the Jersey Shore who has been important of Mr. Trump.