Global Courant
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., will reportedly announce his 2024 reelection bid at a news conference Monday that is expected to be his first public appearance since his latest indictment.
Menendez has scheduled a news conference in Hudson County, where he grew up and launched his political career as a 20-year school board member.
Fox News learned that Menendez, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2006, will speak at 11:30 a.m. ET at Hudson County Community College in Union City.
At that event, he is expected to announce his 2024 re-election bid — and that could mean he steps outside the Democratic Party, The New Jersey Globe reported.
The newspaper first reported that Menendez would hold a news conference on Monday, but initially said the location had yet to be confirmed.
DEMOCRAT ANNOUNCES BOB MENENDEZ’S PRIMARY CHALLENGE TO SENATOR’S LONG TERM BRIBERY ANNOUNCEMENT
An evidence photo shows Senator Bob Menendez, Nadine Menendez and an Egyptian official at a meeting at the official’s private home. (United States District Court)
The senator initially asked to host it at Colin Powell Elementary School in Union City, where he grew up and was mayor, but school officials rejected that as a distraction during the school day. Menendez’s office had sent out invitations with the school as the location for the press conference, but had to find a new host.
Fox News Digital reached out to Menendez’s office early Monday for comment.
An evidence photo shows gold bars donated by Fred Daibes and found in the home of Senator Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine. (United States District Court)
Menendez was charged Friday via an unsealed indictment in the Southern District of New York for allegedly agreeing to use his official position to benefit New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes and the Egyptian government , in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. The indictment also accuses Menendez’s wife, Nadine, and the three businessmen of the yearlong bribery scheme. Federal prosecutors said the bribes included gold bars, cash and a luxury convertible.
An image taken by federal agents from gold bars discovered in Menendez’s home. (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York)
CHRIS CHRISTIE RESPONDS TO ASKED whether he would run for SEN. BOB MENENDEZ’S SEAT IN 2024 Amid Democrat’s Indictment
So far, Menendez has refused to resign his seat, but he resigned from his position as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Friday.
A photo taken by investigators of a luxury car allegedly given to Menendez as a bribe. (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York)
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and other Democrats serving the Garden State have called for his immediate resignation.
Menendez is pictured in 2019 with his wife Nadine and businessman Jose Uribe, who was also charged on Friday, at a celebratory dinner. (United States District Court for the Southern District of New York)
In the wake of the indictment, Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., has announced a primary challenge to Menendez. So does Lawrence Hamm, a former Newark school board member and president of a social justice advocacy group the People’s Organization for Progress, according to the Globe.
Senator Bob Menendez, D-N.J., at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
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Menendez faced a previous federal corruption charge in 2015, but that charge ended in a mistrial in 2017. In 2018, the Senate Ethics Committee said he violated federal laws and Senate rules by conducting unreported to accept gifts from a friend and political ally. He still won re-election later that year.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, policing and more. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
