Fetterman says he’s daring indicted Sen. Bob Menendez to run for reelection

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said on Friday that he’s “daring” indicted Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a fellow Democrat, to run for reelection and said he thinks it’s “outrageous” that Menendez still has the right to attend classified briefings on Capitol Hill.

“I’m daring Menendez to run for reelection,” Fetterman told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead,” saying, “I don’t know why he’d want to be a part of that, but if he does run it doesn’t – he’s a non-factor.”

Menendez is up for reelection this year, and Fetterman recently endorsed Democratic US Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey as a primary challenger against him.

“He has the right to have his day in court, absolutely,” Fetterman said of Menendez, “but he doesn’t have the right to necessarily be a senator, and he definitely doesn’t have the right to be in classified briefings that involve nations that he is now credibly accused of being a foreign agent of. It’s outrageous and I truly can’t understand why anybody would be okay with that.”

Menendez is facing bribery and corruption charges for allegedly taking steps to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar and help several New Jersey businessmen and receiving in exchange gold bars, cash, a luxury car and Formula One Grand Prix race tickets. Menendez has forcefully denied the charges against him and has said that he will prove his innocence while claiming that he is being persecuted by prosecutors.

CNN has reached out to Menendez’s office for comment on Fetterman’s latest remarks.

Menendez has criticized colleagues who have called for his resignation in the wake of the indictments. In a Senate floor speech earlier this month, Menendez said that he is “alarmed that the greatest and most ardent defenders