NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Embattled GOP Rep. George Santos defended Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez days after the senior U.S. senator from New Jersey was indicted by a federal grand jury in an alleged bribery scheme.
Santos, who himself faces federal charges in an unrelated case, said Menendez shouldn't resign over the allegations and that he has a right to a presumption of innocence.
"I think due process is important and I think he has the right to defend himself," Santos initially told NBC News Capitol Hill correspondent Julie Tsirkin at the U.S. Capitol.
"He's innocent until proven guilty," Santos continued. "The media has to stop acting like everybody is guilty before they're even judged by a jury. So, no, I think everybody is innocent until proven guilty. When did we walk away from the fabric of our Constitution that everybody has a presumption of innocence before anything else? So, no, I don't think he should resign."
The congressman later reiterated his view in a post on the social media site X and claimed the journalist seemed "disappointed that I actually believe in the constitution."
"Everyone is innocent until the government executes its burden of proving otherwise," he wrote on X. "I don’t care if you are a Rep or Dem we are all afforded the same constitutional rights!"
On Friday, federal prosecutors announced their sweeping bribery case against Menendez, 69, his wife Nadine Menendez, 56, and multiple other associates. It accuses Menendez and his wife of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and a luxury car in exchange for a range of favors, including secretly aiding the government of Egypt on U.S. policy matters and interfering in three criminal investigations. It's Menendez's second time facing federal charges; the first case ended in a mistrial in 2017.
Santos, 34, faces 13 federal criminal charges in a unrelated case linked to allegations he duped donors, stole from his campaign and lied to Congress about being a millionaire, all while cheating to collect unemployment benefits he didn’t deserve. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in May and was released on a $500,000 bond.
Both Santos and Menendez have denied the charges against them and insisted they will not resign as their separate cases play out in the courts.
At a news conference Monday to comment on the bribery charges, Menendez echoed Santos' comments about him, saying he was owed the right to due process.
"All people are presumed innocent until proven guilty," the senator said. "I ask for nothing more and deserve nothing less."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.