Democrats’ response to the Menendez indictment tells all you need to know about today’s GOP

Democratic US Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey faces corruption-related charges for the second time in a decade. Friday’s three-count federal indictment accuses Menendez, who was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence. The alleged bribes included gold bars, cash and a luxury car.

Menendez has denied any wrongdoing while criticizing prosecutors for, in his words, “making false claims against me.” (A mistrial was declared in an earlier corruption case, and prosecutors dropped the charges.)

The reaction from some of Menendez’s fellow Democrats to the new indictment might surprise those accustomed to how some Republicans have responded to criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.