Is senator bob menendez a National Security threat . And where are the nations Top Democrats on whether remaining in his position should even be tolerated . Two central questions as menendez remains defiant in the face of a damning indictment. Im abby phillips, among the charges democrat is accused of using his power to get Sensitive Information of the plots overseas. Information that eventually made its way to a Foreign Government. And while he is temporarily stepping down from being chairman of the senate warm relations committee, he is still privy to classified information. Now, the governor of his state suggested those allegations alone make him compromised. And one of menendezs democratic colleagues went even farther. Does it sound like espionage from your perspective . As a former intel officer, we collected information and we paid people for that information. So in the simplest of terms, yes. From a legal standpoint, ill defer to the doj on that. We are now starting to see these senators initial defense, including his explanation for why he had those stacks of cash. Now, this may seem old fashioned. But these are monies drawn from my personal Savings Account based on the income that i have lawfully derived over those 30 years. Now that is his denial for gusty alleged cash bribe. But menendez did not explain the reasons for the bars, the luxury car, or the Mortgage Payment help that was listed in the indictment, nor did he explain why he allegedly sought information on those diplomats or whether he ghost wrote a letter from the egyptian government. And tonight, just three out of his 47 democratic colleagues in the senate are calling on him to resign. But remember, when the shoe was on the other foot, Democratic Leaders once questioned whether donald trump was too compromised by a foreign power as well . What could possibly cause President Trump to put the interests of russia over those of the United States . Millions of americans will continue to wonder the only possible explanation for this dangerous behavior is the possibility that President Putin holds damaging information over President Trump. The American People deserve to know whether donald trump is either, a, a legitimate president , b, all russian assets, c, the functional covenant of an organized crime boss, or d, i useful idiot whos been happen to be victimized by the greatest Collection Coincidences in the Republican Party. Now, trump, of course has denied that hes compromised. And he was the president of United States, but not a senator. But democrats like schumer also talked a lot about alleged bribery when impeaching trump, something that he also denied. And its efforts to garner influence from Foreign Governments and help himself i n elections. James madison offered a specific list of impeachable defenses during the debate in independents hall. A president might lose his capacity or embezzle public funds. A despicable soul might succumb to bribes while in office. When i study the constitution and the federalist papers in high school, and middle e i was skeptical of George Washingtons warning that, quote, foreign influence is one of those baneful foes of republican government, unquote. It seems so far fetched. Who would dare, but the foresight of the wisdom and the founders endures. Even menendez himself question whether trump was an agent of a foreign power. Listen to this. The American People deserve to know who they elected to be their president. They deserve to know if hes in fact putting americas interests first. They deserve to know if donald trump is willingly or unwittingly an agent for the russian federation. Congress must carry out its constitutional duty to fully and thoroughly investigate where the facts lead. When it comes to democrats in congress tonight, could the dam actually be breaking . Listen to former House Speaker nancy pelosi. Do you think he should resign . I respect the position that they were taking, and the charges are formidable. Probably would be a good idea if he did resign. We should reiterate, of, course that menendez is innocent until Proven Guilty. But that is the legal question. Tonight, there are some other questions, ethical ones, and most importantly perhaps, National Security questions that are being asked as well. Now joining me now is new Jersey Democratic State Committee chairman Lee Roy Jones jr. Chairman jones, thank you for being here. So Senator Menendez today appeared unmoved by all of these growing calls for him to step down. On friday, you did say that he should resign to focus on his legal defense. Today, i, wonder is that still your position . Yes, it is, abby. And thanks for having me. As you run your audio and your tapes, you completely see that there is an admission from many of his colleagues that these charges are very serious. You know, they are very troublesome. And of course, there is the presumption of innocence. That is by way of our constitution and rule of law in this country. And we stand by that. But as it becomes increasingly clear, it becomes very difficult for representation of the people of new jersey to become compromised. And you know, Senator Menendez is in a position that his ability to we continue to service the people of new jersey has been compromised. And we believe, so many of us here in new jersey, that he should be concentrating heavily on his legal defense. Notably, the white house and senate and Democratic Leadership, they havent gone as far as you, have even to just say focus on your legal defense. What do you think of that silence in washington . You know, look, washingtons washington and new jersey is new jersey. I cant comment on why there is seemingly some level of silence. I think its perhaps to give Senator Menendez some room to let the last couple days a marinate and perhaps another conclusion in terms of where he stands at this point. But here in new jersey, we see it for his hand. And weve admired him for his service over the years. And its been nearly 50 years of service. But when you look at the gravity of these charges, they are going to be clearly a distraction in his ability to serve, and with upcoming legislative races that we have right here in new jersey. All right, leroy jones jr. , thank you very much for joining us. Thank you, abby. Lets continue this conversation now with cnn opinion writer sofia nelson, cnn political commentator ana navarro, former Obama White House senior recognize euro hawk, and former federal prosecutor on kuch khardori. On cushman, want to start with you. What do you make of this indictment, that the indictments of it, prosecutors are alleging here bribery, but that is actually perhaps harder to prove that it seems . Yes, these sorts of cases have gotten much harder for the government to prove, as a result of Supreme Court decision of the last 15 years or so. And theres a whole string of losses in the area, not just a minute and this, ks government donell in virginia, the ridge gate things that were overturned recently by the Supreme Court. Even last, year the same office thats now Charge Menendez has some Bribery Charges tossed out by a judge in a case they had brought. So if your menendez, this is a very bad set of facts. And the politics surrounding them, im going to set aside. Legally, though is going to want to focus on at least a couple of things. One, are the things that the government alleges he did in official acts under the law, meaning official acts of Government Power . And two, where those things done in exchange for the money . And just give you an example, you alluded to or talked about the sort of sharing of confidential information concerning staffing at the embassy. Its not clear to me thats going to be an official act under the law. Doesnt mean its not very bad, and very regrettable. Just to be clear, he may have used his position to get yes, these sorts of cases have gotten much harder for the government to prove, as a result of Supreme Court decision of the last 15 years or so. And theres a whole string of losses in the area, not just a minute and this, ks government donell in virginia, the ridge gate things that were overturned recently by the Supreme Court. Even last, year the same office thats now Charge Menendez has some Bribery Charges tossed out by a judge in a case they had brought. So if your menendez, this is a very bad set of facts. And the politics surrounding them, im going to set aside. Legally, though is going to want to focus on at least a couple of things. One, are the things that the government alleges he did in official acts under the law, meaning official acts of Government Power . And two, where those things done in exchange for the money . And just give you an example, you alluded to or talked about the sort of sharing of confidential information concerning staffing at the embassy. Its not clear to me thats going to be an official act under the law. Doesnt mean its not very bad, and very regrettable. Just to be clear, he may have used his position to get that information. But the question is, is it an actual act of a United States senator is of issue here . Anna, i have to ask, you youve known bob menendez for a long, long time. Hes incredibly defiant. Tonight, hes saying that hes going to stick around, hes going to fight it. What do you make of that decision of his to do that . Abby, i met bob menendez almost 30 years ago. I was a nosed law student trying to pass immigration legislation, any help me back then. He was in congress. And we have Work Together on countless issues and causes through the years. So i know him quite well. He is not defiant tonight. Bob menendez is defiant period. Thats just his character. He comes from one of the toughest areas in the country, hudson county, new jersey. And you know, i think that if you are bob menendez, ive thought about this endlessly this weekend, because its painful for me, its shocking, its disturbing, these are very serious allegations. But ive thought about this, and im thinking to myself, if you are bob menendez, youve got to be asking yourself why should i be sighing when theres a guy in the house, George Santos, whos indicted, where theres a guy running for the republican nomination leading by 40 points whos indicted in four different cases. Why should i resign when ive beaten one of these things before, when the prosecution got it wrong and couldnt get me and charge me with all of these things. So ive got to suspect that all these things are going through his head. And ive got to tell you, i think 99 senators could come out and tell bob menendez to resign. But and he wouldnt budge. Bob menendez is not gonna be shown the door. He is not going to be shoved out. When he does it, if and when he does it, its because he feels it. And also, listen, there is primary elections in new jersey in less than a year. Something like eight months. Hes up for election next year. And the people of new jersey want him out. Theyve got a chance to do it. Thats within the democrats, because with a primary coming up, and andy kim, whos of a Younger Generation of democrats, has already declared hes going to run and primary bob menendez. Thats a big deal in a place like new jersey, as anna alluded to, politically an d culturally, how you know people and how you relate to them is how you do business with them. So the jersey that i grew up in of the mob bosses and union bosses is similar to what senator thomas elie grew up in, and he had to resign from office because of alleged criminal conduct. This is also what bob menendez in that same vein, its the connections that have gotten into trouble, legal trouble. But the people of new jersey have not said this is a Challenger Problem for them, and they have an opportunity to do that this year. We will find out. But lets take a step back here for a second, what were talking about is an allegation that a Foreign Government basically try to work him in the United States senate. Abby, you said a key word, defiant. And i think thats the area were in, exit three jersey, south jersey, i agree with everything thats been said. However, im more concerned about the erosion of public trust and ethics. Athletes are dammed at this point, because just like in my home state of virginia, when governor northam, remember, him got in a lot of trouble, he said im not resigning, i dont care how many Press Releases yall send out, he mocked, did all these other things. And they threw the Lieutenant Governor under the bus and the state kind of shifted it to him. So were in this age now of trump, were you say anything, you do anything, you break the law, you get found liable for sexual assault, e. Jean carroll, and then you defame her, and then you get hit with a couple finds, right, and thats the world were living in. So whether or not the Foreign Government worked him seems to be of little consequence. And that concerns me because these polls recently showing that donald trump gets more popular, the worse it gets, the more popular he gets. This is what democrats have had a challenge with. Al franken, 2017, he stepped aside, he resigned, and now says he regrets it. Because clearly at the same time somebody got elected president with more credible allegations against them. So democrats have often been too good for their own political benefit. Is that really what this is, being too good, by Holding People accountable . I do think the democrats coming out hold themselves to a higher standard than what you see republicans hold themselves to when it comes to George Santos or donald trump. But you see what pelosi said . She referenced centers, and said she still thinks he should resign. Shes not the republican leader, is she . Right, but im saying im not in Democratic Leadership. But shes in a pretty clear signal tonight the rest the democrats. Listen, if they want members of congress who are indicted to leave, they could pass rules and regulations. They could pass legislation. If they want it to be illegal for relatives not to cash in on their last, name they could pass that legislation. But guess what, there is a lot of people cashing in on i want to get a question in here, because as you pointed out, federal prosecutors have a lot to prove here. And i have a lot to prove when it comes to menendez, because hes beat this once. How important is it for them to not fail a second time here . I think this is a significant case for the Justice Department on a whole bunch of different dimensions. One is obviously this is someone they have shot at before and missed. But also, this is coming in a context of a whole discourse about the trump indictments and alleged weaponization and all that sort of thing, and disparate, alleged disparate treatment between republicans and democrats, which is a narrative that i dont accept. I mean, it perhaps disproves that narrative, because there you see an indictment. Exactly, and a lot of people are saying that. But at the end of the day, this indictment is just the start of a case. A lot of things are going to happen, including menendezs opportunity to mount a defense. And things can get hurry from there on out. And i think its gonna be very important for the Justice Department to execute this, the prosecution, as flawlessly as possible. All right, well see how they do. Everyone, stick around for us. Coming up next, the rnc tonight is revealing who qualify for this weeks second republican debate. Well discuss that next. Plus, justin, former President Trumps aide Cassidy Hutchinson speaks out on why this election is makeorbreak for the Republican Party. And our own daniel dale joins us for a fact check, including on trumps claim that wind farms are making whales crazy. In fact checked on three claims by President Trump on the Campaign Trail including one on truth social. Seeing all Democratic Senators should resign. And either paid to rig the 2020 cnn Senior Correspondent daniel dale is here. Daniel, that is obviously not true. That is not, true its a lie on top of a lie. The underlying lie, the 2020 election was free and fair, not rigged and stolen, weve said this over and over, debunked it over and over it. And on top of, that there is this claim that somehow Democratic Senators did the reading and stealing. This transparently makes zero sense. Democratic senators were not even in charge of the senate at the time of the election.