New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez has just been indicted on federal corruption charges.
Like every US citizen facing criminal prosecution, Menendez has the right to the legal presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
But Menendez is also currently a member of the Senate Democratic leadership – the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - and that is another matter entirely.
Menendez doesn’t have a political entitlement to remain in a position of leadership - representing (and discrediting) other Democrats - while he is under indictment.
On the contrary, the responsible thing for him to do is resign from his leadership position while he is under indictment. That’s what Rep. Charlie Rangel did when he was under an ethics investigation. Indeed, under the rules of the Senate Republican caucus, it’s automatic that a Senator under indictment has to resign from leadership.
The Times report linked above says that there's no indication yet that Menendez intends to step down from the leadership.
Urge your Senators to say that Menendez should resign from leadership while under indictment by signing our petition at MoveOn.
Robert Naiman is Policy Director at Just Foreign Policy.