Sen. John Fetterman Says He Will Return Sen. Bob Menendez's Campaign Donation
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) was not only the first ― he was the only ― Democratic Senator to demandSen. Bob Menendez to resign over corruption charges.
And now he’s putting his money where his mouth is.
On Monday, the Pennsylvania Democrat said he will be returning the $5,000 donation his New Jersey counterpart made during Fetterman’s 2020 campaign.
But there’s a catch: Since authorities noted they found nearly half a million dollars in cash at Menendez’s home, much of it stuffed into envelopes, Fetterman wants to return the money also in envelopes, stuffed with hundred-dollar bills.
“We are in process of returning the money in envelopes stuffed with $100 bills,” Joe Calvello, a spokesperson for Fetterman, told The Messenger.
On Saturday, Fetterman called for Menendez to step down from the Senate saying that while the Senator “is entitled to the presumption of innocence,” he “cannot continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations.”
Menendez said Monday that despite the charges against him, he has no plans to resign or stop his reelection bid.
He also claimed that the massive amounts of cash allegedly found stashed in his house came from his personal savings account.
“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” Menendez said.
Fetterman wasn’t impressed with the explanation and later tweeted, “We have an extra flashlight in our home for emergencies.”
We have an extra flashlight for our home emergencies https://t.co/pZ0kDmIcXI
— John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) September 25, 2023
