Jones, McCabe, Juliano, Currie tell Menendez to resign

Three of the most influential Democratic party leaders in New Jersey, Democratic State Chairman LeRoy Jones, Jr., Middlesex County Democratic Chairman Kevin McCabe, and Bergen County Democratic Chairman Paul Juliano today called on indicted U.S. Senator Bob Menendez to resign.

“In the interest of ensuring that New Jerseyans continue to be granted the federal representation that they deserve, and to make sure that our party is able to keep its focus on the critical upcoming state legislative elections in November, I believe that the best course of action is for Senator Menendez to resign so that he can focus his full attention on his legal defense,” said Jones, a longtime Menéndez ally and the Essex County Democratic chairman.

McCabe called the allegations in Menendez’s indictment, unsealed by the U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of New York this morning “seriously alarming.”

“The allegations, if proven true, raise gravely serious concerns,” McCabe said. “In the best interests of our party, I believe Senator Menendez must resign and allow our party to move forward.”

Juliano, who represents New Jersey’s largest county and Menendez’s home county, said that the indictment will “make it difficult for the Senator to do his job and serve the citizens of New Jersey effectively going forward.”

“For that reason, I urge the Senator to do what’s best for the people of our state, and step down,” said Juliano.

Their calls for Menendez to immediately leave the U.S. Senate make it increasingly unlikely that Menendez will have party support if he continues his re-election bid next year.

Passaic County Democratic Chairman John Currie and Monmouth County Democratic Chairman David Brown also told Menendez to step down.

“As a long-time state chairman and the Democratic leader in Passaic County, I’m deeply concerned by the allegations against Senator Menendez,” Currie said.  “While everyone deserves their day in court, for the sake of unity and public trust, I urge Senator Menendez to step aside as he focuses on defending himself.”

Jones and McCabe joined Gov. Phil Murphy, Senate President Nicholas Scutari, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, and Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) in asking Menendez to step aside.

“The allegations contained in the indictment that was unsealed today, if they are proven to be true, are incredibly serious and raise many disturbing questions,” Jones said.  “Senator Menendez should be afforded the same presumption of innocence that the U.S. Constitution guarantees to all Americans.”

This story was updated at 5;44 PM.