MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez opened the network’s “American Voices” on Saturday with a promise to stay away from covering the indictment of her father, New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. But, she promised, her colleagues at NBC and MSNBC will continue to aggressively cover the story.
Her father allegedly aided the government of Egypt and was given gifts including cash and gold bars. His wife Nadine was also among those indicted and allegedly helped to connect her husband with Egyptian representatives.
“We have a lot to get to tonight, but I want to begin on a personal note,” MSNBC’s Menendez said. “Last week, a grand jury indicted U.S. Senator Bob Menendez. This past week, dozens of members of his own party have demanded his resignation.”
Republicans were quick to call for his resignation. Democrats had avoided immediately speaking out when the indictment was announced, but many have since decided that the allegations mean that he should resign.
“I have been watching along with all of you as a citizen and also as his daughter. I will not be reporting on the legal case,” Alicia Menendez told viewers. “That said, my colleagues across MSNBC and NBC News they have aggressively covered this story, and will continue to do so as they should.”
Sen. Menendez was previously indicted in 2015 on corruption charges, but the jury in the case was unable to reach a verdict and the charges were later dropped. Prosecutors alleged then that he took bribes from a Florida-based ophthalmologist.
You can watch a clip of Alicia Menendez’s statement here, shared by independent journalist Yashar Ali:
MSNBC’s @AliciaMenendez on how she’ll handle the coverage of her father Senator Bob Menendez’s indictment.
Exactly how it should be handled…and something that Chris Cuomo should learn from but won’t.
“We have a lot to get to tonight, but I want to begin on a personal note.… pic.twitter.com/nuoVA70hgT
— Yashar Ali
(@yashar) September 30, 2023
MSNBC’s Menendez isn’t the only television newsperson with family in politics. The category includes everyone from NBC’s Andrea Mitchell, who’s married to former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, to Fox News’ Rachel Campos-Duffy, married to Republican Rep. Sean Duffy.
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