Senator Bob Menendez (from the state of New Jersey), a skeptic of Bitcoin, says he is not stepping down after calling a bribery scheme earlier this week after Senate Democrats of longtime U.S. lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, called for his resignation.
According to a Wednesday evening report by NBC News, people close to the matter said the U.S. lawmaker fighting bitcoin had called allies to inform them of his decision to step down. However, Menendez himself, in a Wednesday evening article published on CBS News, simultaneously denied the allegations regarding his resignation.
“I can say that I have not resigned or spoken to any ally,” the former mayor of Union City, New Jersey, said. “It seems to me that an attempt is being made to force me to make some kind of statement.”
Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats urge Bob Menendez to resign
News of the reports came just days after the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Council was found guilty on all charges in a federal corruption trial after US prosecutors accused him of accepting gifts and working as a foreign agent.
“I am deeply, deeply disappointed in the jury’s decision,” Menedez told reporters in a statement outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan shortly after the verdict. “I have complete faith that the law and the facts did not support this decision and that the appeal will be successful. I have never violated the public oath I took.”
Pressure has intensified on Menendez in recent days, with at least a dozen senatorial Democrats supporting his expulsion should he resign. “In light of this conviction, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate and our country,” – Schumer stated.
Menendez’s arrest can be seen as an ironic twist for those in the digital asset sector, given that he once called bitcoin “the perfect choice for criminals.”
The New Jersey politician introduced a bill in 2023, titled the El Salvador Cryptocurrency Accountability Act, to address the consequences of accepting Bitcoin as legal tender in the Central American country.
Menendez, who denies all charges, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 29 and faces up to 222 years in prison. Whether or not the Democratic politician steps down, his alleged involvement and subsequent conviction on corruption grounds will largely taint the remnants of his legacy.
