Fetterman wants to give back Menendez donations in 'envelopes stuffed with $100 bills'
Sen. John Fetterman isn't giving fellow Democrat Bob Menendez a break after calling on his New Jersey colleague to resign amid a major federal indictment that alleges corruption and bribery.
Fetterman, who represents Pennsylvania, is the only Democratic senator thus far who has called on Menendez to step down over charges that he and his wife received cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for enriching the Egyptian government.
Menendez vehemently denied those claims on Monday during a press conference in Union City, New Jersey, promising he would be "exonerated" when all the facts come out.
But Fetterman pressed the issue further when his office said the freshman lawmaker plans to return a $5,000 donation Menendez made during the 2022 campaign, “in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills,” a Fetterman spokesperson told The Messenger, an online news outlet.
Documents from the investigation show FBI agents had found roughly $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, when executing a search warrant at Menendez's home.
Menendez said Monday he often withdraws thousands of dollars of cash from his personal savings account to keep for emergencies.
Fetterman's office did not immediately respond to Paste BN's request for comment.
Last week, Fetterman said Menendez is "entitled to the presumption of innocence" but that his colleague isn't granted the right to "continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations."
Other Democratic officials, including New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, have also said it's time for Menendez to go in the days since the indictment became public.
"Menendez must resign. Corruption is corruption. Bribery is bribery," Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., said Monday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
"We can't hold Thomas (and) Alito accountable for selling out our freedoms for luxury vacations if we can't hold a senator accountable for selling out his chairmanship to a dictator gifting gold for military aid."