By Athena Papakosta

Unrelenting. This is how one could characterize Senator Menendez who yesterday, Monday, appeared for the first time in public after the accusations of bribery, fraud and extortion.

For his first public appearance, he chose the place where his political career began in the 1970s.

From Hudson County and Union City, where he grew up, Robert Menendez stressed that this, too, “will be the biggest fight I’ve fought so far” while insisting, at the same time, on his innocence.

“The charges against me are just that – charges,” he said, characteristically, to add that “I strongly believe that when all the evidence is presented, I will not only be acquitted, but I will still be the senior senator of New Jersey.”

The Democratic senator, although he insisted that he did not commit any crime, did not accept any questions from reporters. He has not tendered his resignation from his congressional seat and has not disclosed whether or not he will run in the 2024 election.

Over the past 24 hours, more and more Democratic officials have been pushing Menendez to resign his Senate seat as the race to succeed him has caught fire. After Andy Kim nominated, so did activist Larry Hamm, while experts expect Democrats Josh Gottheimer and Mickey Serrill to enter the dance. As they note, an open seat for the Senate is a golden ticket for many ambitious Democratic candidates. After all, New Jersey hasn’t elected a Republican to the Senate since 1972, and given the odds in favor of the Democratic Party at this point on the map, it’s almost unlikely that would happen now. Nevertheless, if Menendez remains in the race then, the mission of the… ambitious would become more demanding.

From the next day’s equation, one cannot overlook the fact that the Democratic Party does not have much room for maneuver. The majority he maintains in the Senate over the Republicans is marginal (51-49). A Menendez nomination might have complicated the conditions in favor of the Democrats, and there are not a few who do not prefer the possibility of this risk. Their reasoning is also based on the fact that the last time Menendez was impeached, eight years ago, he had the full support of the party and yet his opponent in the Democratic primary received 40% of the vote.

For now, Robert Menendez has been forced to step down as chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee because of the Senate’s rule that those accused of felonies must step down from their leadership positions.

“Prosecutors sometimes make mistakes,” the senator said, adding that “unfortunately, I know that.”

It is recalled that the Menendez couple are accused of receiving gifts totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2018 and 2022 from three businessmen operating in the New Jersey area in exchange for exercising influence to benefit both them and the Egyptian government.

Now the next act of the “drama” will “rise” tomorrow, Wednesday, September 27 in the federal court of Manhattan, the threshold of which both he and his wife, Nadine, are called to pass.