Embattled Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez will not attend a classified all-senators briefing from U.S. officials on Israel set for Wednesday in the wake of being charged with acting as a foreign agent of Egypt.
Mr. Menendez told The Washington Times Tuesday that he made the decision to not attend and was not requested to skip the briefing by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat.
“I made my own decision not to attend,” said Mr. Menendez of New Jersey. “After 30 years of doing foreign policy and [being] intimately involved with our relationship with Israel, there’s nothing I’m going to hear in a classified hearing that is going to alter my view of what needs to be done.”
He and his wife have pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and public corruption charges as it relates to accepting lavish gifts from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for providing sensitive information beneficial to the men and the government of Egypt.
In a superseding indictment last week, prosecutors alleged Mr. Menendez also conspired to act as a foreign agent for Egypt. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, who has gone a step further than his Democratic colleagues by calling for Mr. Menendez’s expulsion, raised national security concerns about him receiving a classified briefing on a key U.S. ally that neighbors Egypt.
“Hypothetically, if you’re accused of being a foreign agent for a nation — like, say, Egypt — should you be attending a classified briefing on Israel tomorrow?” Mr. Fetterman said. “I’m just asking for a friend.”
• Ramsey Touchberry can be reached at rtouchberry@washingtontimes.com.
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