Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey is set to hold a news conference on Monday following his recent indictment on federal bribery charges. Menendez and his wife, Nadine, are facing charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. Prosecutors allege that the couple received hundreds of thousands of dollars and lavish gifts in exchange for the senator using his influence to benefit three New Jersey business associates and the government of Egypt. The businessmen involved in the scheme are also facing charges.

Despite the allegations, Menendez has denied them and resisted calls for his resignation, stating, "I'm not going anywhere." Monday's news conference will be the senator's first public statement since the indictment. Menendez and his co-defendants are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday. In accordance with Senate Democratic Caucus rules, Menendez has temporarily stepped down as the chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Menendez has been serving as a senator since 2006 and is up for reelection in 2024.

In response to the indictment, Democratic Representative Andy Kim of New Jersey announced over the weekend that he will be mounting a primary challenge against Menendez. However, former Republican Governor of New Jersey and current presidential candidate Chris Christie stated on Sunday that he has no interest in running for the Senate seat in 2024.

Calls for Menendez's resignation have been growing among prominent Democratic lawmakers. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York joined the chorus on Sunday, describing the situation as "quite unfortunate" and stating that it is in Menendez's best interest to resign. Other New Jersey Democratic lawmakers, including Governor Phil Murphy, have also called for his resignation, citing the seriousness of the allegations. However, Menendez's fellow Democratic Senator from New Jersey, Cory Booker, has not yet weighed in on the matter. The only Democratic senator to call for Menendez's resignation so far is John Fetterman from neighboring Pennsylvania.

This is not the first time Menendez has faced legal troubles. In 2015, he was indicted on a dozen charges, including bribery and conspiracy, for accepting gifts from a wealthy Democratic donor in exchange for political favors. That case ended in a mistrial.

The news conference will take place on Monday, September 25, 2023, in Union City, New Jersey, and will be live-streamed on CBS News. Melissa Quinn has contributed to this report.

In an interview on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York joined the call for Menendez's resignation. She described the allegations as "extremely serious" and stated that it is in the best interest for Menendez to step down. Ocasio-Cortez emphasized the importance of consistency and maintaining the integrity of seats in Congress, regardless of political party. She acknowledged the existence of systemic bias but believed that the details in the indictment were clear enough to warrant Menendez's resignation. Ocasio-Cortez also emphasized the presumption of innocence until proven guilty in a legal context but stressed the need for maintaining political standards of dignity.