Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) defended himself on the Senate floor Tuesday morning against the newest criminal charges he faces for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for advancing the interests of Qatar.
The new charges were contained in a superseding indictment that was unsealed last week and alleges Menendez accepted various gifts and payments in exchange for taking action to help Qatar and one of the other co-conspirators listed in the indictment.
“I’m innocent, and I intend to prove my innocence – not just for me, but for the precedent this case will set for you and for future members of the Senate,” Menendez said. “Members of the Senate are not above the law, but they are not beneath it either. If for political expediency, an indictment and its accusations are now tantamount to guilt, we have upended our system of justice in America.”
Menendez claimed that there was “no evidence” of the “sensationalized allegations” being made against him and said that “a full explanation of what is the truth about those issues” will be presented at trial which he claimed “proves I am entirely innocent of the charges.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE DAILYWIRE+ APP
“I understand how the government’s accusations may be in the most sensational and purposely damning way possible,” Menendez continued. “It’s misuse of the grand jury system to bring superseding indictments, even though it had all the information they allege from the beginning, can be a source of concern and content by some of my colleagues, the political establishment, and most importantly, the people of New Jersey… I am suffering greatly as a result of what they have done after 50 years of public service – this is not how I wanted to celebrate my golden jubilee.”
WATCH: