Relentlessly carved out of the american wilderness. The book is out now. I hope you enjoy it. The news continues. The source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. Tonight, straight from the source, bob menendez defiant, now trying to explain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash stashed around his house, as a third democratic Senator Calls for him to resign. Plus former President Trump threatening the highest Military Ranking Officer in the nation, who also happens to be a witness in the special counsels case against him. Well get reaction from trumps former Defense Secretary in moments. And the Trump Campaign first said that he bought a gun today in South Carolina, but after an immediate uproar, they walked it back. Whats the law for someone whos been indicted four times . Im Kaitlan Collins, and this is the source. Tonight, new jersey senator bob menendez is refusing to resign, despite the growing calls from within his own party. Now three Democratic Senators calling for him to step down. And just in tonight, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined them. The charges are formidable. And if, in fact, were going to say that if youre indicted you should resign, that would probably be a good idea if he did resign. Probably would be a good idea. The democrat, who has now been indicted for a second time, though, says he has no intention of doing so. I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will i be exonerated, but i still will be new jerseys senior senator. These are his first comments on camera since being indicted. And the member of the Senate Banking committee offered this explanation for why nearly half a Million Dollars in cash was somehow safer in jackets in closets in his home rather than, say, a bank. For 30 years, i have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal Savings Account, which i have kept for emergencies and because of the history of my family Facing Confiscation in cuba. Menendez did not offer an explanation for the gold bars or the mercedesbenz sports car that prosecutors say he received as Bribe Payments for using his position to funnel money and military aid to egypt, allegations that, of course, are made all the more brazen given he was the top ranking democrat on the Senate Foreign relations committee. Throughout my 30 years in a House Of Representatives and the senate, i have always worked to hold accountable those countries, including egypt, for Human Rights Abuses and repression of its citizenry, Civil Society, and more. The senator made no mention about running for reelection today, as he insisted that the rest of the details he believes will come out in court. The court of Public Opinion is no substitute for our revered Justice System. I should note that Justice System has a bipartisan track record. Currently two sitting law records are facing charges, Senator Menendez and congressman george santos, one democrat, one republican. Given the allegations against the senator focus on his position to influence armed sales and u. S. Aid to egypt, i want to get straight to the source tonight, congressman done buyer of virginia. Congressman, thank you for being here tonight. You heard Senator Menendez there. He said hes not resigning, but you believe he should. Why . Absolutely. First, there is a strong tradition in the congress that when indicted, you should resign. Youre still going to get your day in court. He hasnt been convicted yet. But i dont know how he can do his job effectively with this damning indictment hanging over his head. And frankly i wasnt impressed by The Press Conference today. What questions did he not answer that you still have . Well, first of all if you believe thats why he has the hundred of thousands of dollars in cash hanging around, and even if he did have it, why wouldnt you put it in a safe at home . That doesnt explain why he texted a list of u. S. Embassy employees that ended up in hands, doesnt explain why he ghost wrote a memo that called for a hold on military aid, and doesnt explain why he had the secret meeting with egyptian intelligence. Weve been pushing hard against egypts human rights violations. You know, the thousands of people that are held indefinitely, incarcerated, the torture, the rape, the violation of just human rights. So, the senator says one thing, then he does these letters, then he exactly the opposite when its not in the public eye. I should note on the money, some of it was in a safe deposit box. A lot of it was found either in jackets or just around the house. You mentioned egypt, and that has been something that has been a huge issue for you, how they are on human rights. You heard the senator. Hes stepped down as the chiefrt Foreign Relations committee for democrats for the time being, following Senate Democrats rules. But he made this defense of his record on egypt today. One fact is indisputable. Throughout my time in congress, i have remained steadfast on the side of Civil Society and Human Rights Defenders in egypt and everywhere else in the world. If you look at my actions related to egypt during the period described in this indictment and throughout my whole career, my record is clear. Is that how you see his record . What new questions do you have about the actions he took regarding egypt, given these allegations . Well, kaitlan, lets look at his actions. So, he says he wrote a letter and he stands up for human rights. The only tool we have in our diplomatic box is to withhold military aid. Under the condition of our agreements, we can withhold up to 300 million every year in aid to egypt because of the human rights violations. He actually and the Biden Administration right now is withholding 65 million, considering withholding the rest of it. But Senator Menendez, on the other hand, was working actively to make sure they got all of their money. He says one thing, but does something completely opposite. What do you think this warrants from the administration . They Just Announced 235 million in military aid in recent weeks to egypt. You put out a statement on that as well. What questions does this raise about that relationship Going Forward . The biggest question it raises is egypt, you know, a friend and an ally, is conducting an Espionage Operation within the u. S. Senate right here in washington, d. C. I think that calls for a much stronger response from the Biden Administration. And the straightforward one is to withhold the whole 300 million. So far three democrats have call on Senator Menendez to resign. We just heard from former Speaker Pelosi a few minutes ago. Do you believe that schumer and other Democratic Leaders also need to call for him to resign . I think everyone approaches it their own way. I think its harder when hes been a colleague for year after year. The nancy pelosi calling is very powerful because shes still the most important person in congress, even in her emeritus status. And youll notice that phil murphy, the governor of new jersey and a democrat and a longtime associate of Senator Menendez, has also called on him to step down. Hes been an ally of menendez. He was one of the first to come out. We havent heard from senator cory booker yet. If he stays in the senate, what does it do for your partys credibility . It hurts it. We all make mistakes, but when we make mistakes we have to own them and take responsibility for them, whether theyre our own personally or in our family or in this case the Democratic Caucus. It wont help us to have him hanging around. Right now he says he plans on doing that. Well see if that stays the case. Thanks so much for joining us tonight. Im joined now by lesley caldwell, who eight years ago was a prosecutor for the Justice Department, announced a different set of charges against Senator Menendez. Menendez was acquitted after the jury deadlocked in that case. Former President Trump actually commuted that Doctor Sentence and other charges. Leslie, what do you make of it and do you believe its stronger than what the Justice Department tried to bring in the previous case against Senator Menendez . I think its very different. The first indictment of Senator Menendez was filed and tried when the law was one thing was filed when the law was one way. And between the indictment and the trial, the law changed in the form of the Supreme Court decision, making it much harder for prosecutors to prove public corruption. This is a different kind of indictment with a very different fact pattern. And the indictment is very careful to allege links between specific conduct and specific benefits that were provided to the senator and his wife. So, i think that makes a big difference, and well see how it shakes out. Yeah, and of course what youre referring to is the Supreme Court essentially changing what counts as bribing a public official. That was while his first while trooil was going on. One of the jurors in the case said this about why they did not convict him ultimately in 2017. Theres no smoking gun in this case. We didnt see. So, thats all. We went by that. We all pretty much went by our hearts, and, you know, we didnt think there was enough going on there in the case to convict him. These charges, obvi obviously,lessly, there are picture of gold bars, Text Messages complaining about late payments. How challenges do you believe are the facts that are laid out in the indictment, the allegations, how challenging is that to rebut . I think its going to be very challenging. And the first case involved an individual from whom he was getting benefits. But that individual also was a longtime friend. Thats not a fact in this case, apparently. And the allegations, the, sort of, visual power of the items that were given to him and the amounts that were given to him is much more significant than it was in the earlier case. I think its going to be very difficult to explain the gold bars. I understand hes already made some statements about the cash. But i think its all going to be difficult to explain, particularly when there are allegations of links to very specific behavior by him. He did offer an explanation for the cash today. Just as background, the average senator makes 174,000 a year. This is what Senator Menendez said to explain why he had nearly half a Million Dollars in cash in his home. Now, this may seem old fashio fashioned, but these were moneys drawn from my personal Savings Account based on the income that i have lawfully derived over those 30 years. If you were prosecuting this case, how would you respond to that defense . Well, id first want to test to see if it was even accurate. Im sure the government is subpoenaing, if they havent already, his bank records from his personal Savings Account that he says this money came from, to see what the flow of funds was in and out of that account. Apparently, according to the allegations, some of the envelopes that contained cash, had fingerprints and dna of some of the codefendants, which is difficult to explain. So, i think its going to be very challenging. Yeah. Well see what he says Going Forward. Of course he said, you know, obviously he has the Presumption Of Innocence until proven guilty. Hes got the First Court Appearance on wednesday. Leslie caldwell, thank you for your time tonight. Thank you. And still ahead, americas top general facing a disturbing new threat, including from the man who appointed him. Donald trump insinuating that general mark milley be executed. What does trumps former Defense Secretary, who served alongside him, have to say about these remarks . Plus the Trump Campaign saying the former president bought a gun, then correcting themselves after an up roar. Remember trump is under four Felony Indictments. Can he even legally purchase a firearm . Thats next. General mark milley tonight is facing an onslaught of violent rhetoric, just days before he is set to retire. On friday former President Donald Trump baselessly accused the Department Chairman of treason, quote, an act so egregious that in times gone by, the punishment would have been death. Paul gosar suggested in a news rant on Saturday Night that milley be hanged, among other disgusting remarks that dont bear repeating and therefore wont be repeated tonight. Trump and the congressman were piling on milley for his response to the january 6th attack, including phone calls milley made to allies and Government Officials in china reassuring them at the time that the u. S. Was still a stable government despite what had happened in washington that day. As a remind, trump hand picked general milley to the role he has now in 2018, and showered him with praise at the time. Mark milley, hes a great gentleman. Hes a great patriot. Hes a great soldier. Joining me tonight, former Defense Secretary under former President Donald Trump, mark esper, who of course worked alongside general milley in the administration and wrote about his experience in a sacred oath, his book. Secretary esper, how dangerous do you believe this post from donald trump is . Look, its very dangerous, kaitlan. Its wrong. Its disgusting. Its despicable. And its not just an assault on one person, mark milley, who has served his country nobly, and who now has to fear somebody may act on such remarks. But its also attack on institution of the military professionalism and their sworn oath to defend the constitution of the united states. I see this on multiple levels and either way you look at it, its despicable. One thing that, kind of, stands out when trump says Something Like this that is obviously so egregious and you typically never hear a president , a former president , attacking the person he put in as the joint chiefs chairman, is kind of how muted their response to it. Certainly from Republican Leaders on capitol hill, do you believe its important for them to speak out about this kind of incendiary comment from trump . Look, first of all, im offended that one american would say this about another american. Far, far worse is the fact that the president , the Commander In Chief, no less, is saying this against the four star Joint Chiefs Of Staff who spent 20plus years in uniform in War And Peace fighting, defending his country and his family sacrificing along with him. I think it should be condemned from Toek Approximates on the right, the left, republicans, democrats, conservatives, and liberals alike. This type of talk should be condemned once and for all. Secretary esper, at the heart of what trump is talking about, can you clarify what did happen with those phone calls to Government Officials in china, who directed those, why those would have happened despite what trump is obviously implying in social media . Yeah, look, theres two incidents, one in january of 2021, which i was not part of because i was fired in november. But the other one happens in midoctober. As a result, milley has been accused of being a rogue general, acting on his own, possibly sharing information with the chinese, so forth and so on. I think much of this is due to incomplete and inaccurate reporting by a few authors, most of whom i have respect for but who are, i think, trying to depict a Hero Fighting Against A Lone president. But the story is much more complicated. The accusation that milley called the chinese on his own is simply wrong. I reached out to my multiply Cheese Counterpart in mid october 2020 to send the message that the chinese were scared, alarmed, uncertain about what was happening in washington so i want to send a message to them that everything