NJ Residents Want Sen. Menendez to Stay In Office Despite Indictment, Poll Shows

A 68-page, 14-count indictment chronicling more than half a decade of alleged corruption and misuse of his political office didn’t faze New Jersey residents’ view of United States Senator Robert Menendez.

A recently conducted Rutgers-Eagleton poll shows 58-percent of the 860 residents questioned believe Menendez should stay in office until, and only if, a guilty verdict is rendered. The same poll showed 34-percent of those surveyed believe the Democratic legislator should leave office immediately.

Menendez was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 1 for myriad wrongdoings in association with a wealthy Florida eye doctor named Salomon Melgen. The two have been friends for more than two decades.

According to the indictment, since Menendez was elected to his Senate seat in 2006, he has accepted a variety of gifts from Melgen, including numerous private plane rides and free stays at luxurious hotels and resorts from the Dominican Republic to Paris, France. Conversely, the indictment claimed Menendez used his position to intercede in three separate travel visa applications for Melgen’s girlfriends looking to enter the United States. Menendez is also charged with allegedly advocating for Melgen’s multi-million dollar port security business.

In addition, Melgen has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Menendez’s political campaigning in the past decade and is the Senator’s largest benefactor.

See related stories:

• U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey Indicted on Corruption Charges
• Menendez: ‘I’m Angry, Ready to Fight, And Not Going Anywhere’
• Inside the Indictment: Senator’s Alleged Wrongdoings Run Gamut of Illegal Activity
• NJ Dems Show Support for Menendez After Corruption Indictment

Ignorance is Bliss?

While nearly three out of every five residents polled said Menendez should stay in office after the indictment was served, 57-percent of that group also said it knew little or nothing about the charges against the Senator, the poll showed.

Menendez took a hard line stance during a press conference the day the indictment was announced, seeming defiant of the justice department’s charges and stating he would fight the accusations.

The senator, who pleaded not guilty on April 2, has obtained a high-powered legal team, including Abbe D. Lowell, an attorney with Chadbourne & Parke LLC who has successfully defended a plethora of politicians, including John Edwards, Jim Gibbons, Robert Torricelli, and Charlie Wilson. Lowell has also defended celebrities Steven Seagal and Sean Combs, according to his company biography.

While Menendez is next due in court in July, the status conference will likely be postponed while his defense goes through the government’s evidence, nj.com reported.

What do you think Menendez should do? Stay in office or resign? Tell us in the comments.