Senator Bob Menendez's Trial Has Been Particularly Difficult For His Children
Both Alicia and Rob have had to deal with their father's trial in their respective careers.
Jul. 16 2024, Published 6:50 p.m. ET
It looks like Senator Bob Menendez may have to face some time in prison after a judge found him guilty of multiple charges in July. His wife, Nadine, will face her trial at a later date after it was put on an indefinite pause following her breast cancer diagnosis. But they're not the only people who have to answer for their crimes.
Sen. Menendez's children have also had to answer publicly for the couple's crimes, as both of them are public figures. Here's what they've said about their father's recent criminal charges.
Alicia and Rob are both public figures working in politics.
Sen. Menendez's oldest, Alicia, is a news anchor and reporter for MSNBC, often covering politics and the white house. The news of her father's court hearings broke as she was expected to contribute to the news site's coverage of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address. She was forced to step away and let a colleague announce the news to viewers.
“I have been watching along with all of you as a citizen, and also as his daughter,” she said of her father's court case on air, per The New York Times. “I will not be reporting on the legal case.”
Rob Menendez, the senator's youngest son, has followed directly in his father's footsteps, taking the congressional seat Sen. Menendez once held. Unfortunately, this has left him largely in his father's shadow and led to a lot of scrutiny from others.
When Sen. Menendez previously faced a corruption trial in 2017, Rob was the first witness called to the stand in defense of his father. Despite the outcry following his father's bribery charges, he has remained loyal to Sen. Menendez.
“He’s my father,” he told PBS in explanation of his decision not to call for his father's resignation."In a situation where a family member is going through a challenge, you support them."