Fetterman Demands Menendez's removal from office

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) stated that the alleged crimes of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) are more "serious" than those of recently ousted Republican Rep. George Santos (R-NY).

On Friday morning, the House expelled Santos by a vote of 311-114, following the publication of a damning report by the House Ethics Committee, as the Daily Caller reported.

The committee found what it called "substantial evidence" that Santos engaged in criminal activity under federal law.

Fetterman stated that Menendez must be removed from Congress in the same manner as Santos for allegedly accepting bribes to exercise political power in New Jersey and abroad.

Fetterman's Comments

“But to me, I think the more important picture is that we have a colleague in the Senate that actually [has] done much more sinister and serious kinds of things, Senator Menendez,” Fetterman said during a Friday appearance on The View.

“He needs to go. And if you are going to expel Santos, how can you allow to somebody like Menendez to remain in the Senate. And you know, Santos’ lies were almost like, you know, funny, and he landed on the moon and all that kind of stuff," Fetterman said.

"Whereas I think Menendez I think is really a senator for Egypt, not New Jersey. So I really think he needs to go, and especially, it’s kind of strange that if Santos is not allowed to remain in the House, someone like that," he added.

In a statement released in October, Fetterman demanded that the Senate remove Menendez, citing his status as an "alleged foreign agent" as inappropriate for the chamber.

The Indictment

According to his federal indictment, Menendez is accused of providing secret U.S. government information to the Egyptian government and of having a "corrupt relationship" with three New Jersey businessmen, all of whom are connected to his bribery activities.

Allegedly, his home's clothes, closets, and safe contained more than $480,000 in cash and gold bars.

Menendez entered not guilty pleas to all charges, denying the accusations. The New Jersey senator stated that his Cuban parents had a habit of putting money aside in case of an emergency and that he was simply following suit.

Despite calls from within his own party to depart, the senator from New Jersey has refused to step down from his position in the Senate. After the indictment, he briefly resigned as the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Not long after the House Ethics Committee unveiled its findings related to the 23-count indictment that accused Santos of violating campaign finance laws, wire fraud, and making false representations to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the House removed him from office.

Additional charges against Santos include receiving stolen property, making materially false statements to lawmakers, and aggravated identity theft.