New Jersey U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez pleaded not guilty this week to federal corruption and bribery charges, a week after the indictment fell on him. In case you missed it, or mistook the reporting of it as a synopsis of a particularly outlandish Hollywood crime/scandal drama, the senator from New Jersey is accused of accepting bribes, in the form of gold (yes, actual gold bars), a nice Mercedes-Benz convertible, and an impressive amount of cash. As the indictment puts it, “Over $480,000 in cash – much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe – was discovered in the home.”

It’s a good thing for the Hollywood writers that they have already negotiated an end to their strike, because D.C. reporters and federal prosecutors have them well beat.

On its face, this seems a rather clear case; it’s difficult to imagine what special concern for the national welfare could necessitate the receipt and subsequent squirreling away of gold bars and wads of cash. But, the man is presumed innocent and due his day in court, and it’s instructive to remember he beat a similar, though somewhat less ostentatious, charge previously.

On the other hand, his reported defense is curious; that the sums found did not constitute an illegal economic transaction, but that they were simply the result of his routinely withdrawing cash from his personal account for emergencies. Now, any responsible financial advisor will indeed tell you to keep an emergency fund on hand; few would suggest it be in the neighborhood of $480,000.

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However the facts play out, there is undeniably something distasteful about the whole affair. But of course, sleaze in government – or any human institution – is nothing new, and there are extrinsic implications beyond the sleaze-factor to consider. It is unsatisfying to attempt to draw ideological correlations; one need look no further than former President Donald Trump, who allegedly tucked away national secrets in a similar manner, or former New York U.S. Rep. George Santos, who stepped in almost-too-quickly to remind everyone “the media has to stop acting like everyone is guilty before they are judged by a jury.” But it is still useful to examine the political ramifications.

It took a couple of days, but the bulk of the Democratic caucus is lining up against Menendez, calling for his resignation. It took far less time for New Jersey Democrats to start circling the waters. There is no more lack of ambition among that cadre than there is among any other group of politicians, in either party, in any state, and several contenders are refusing to let a crisis go to waste. There is also little risk for Democrats in abandoning him – New Jersey’s governor happens to be Democratic, meaning the vacancy will be filled with a Democrat, so status quo ante as far as the Senate make-up is concerned – and a pretty daunting public relations downside if they bet incorrectly.

The workaday politics aside, there is the issue of Sen. Menendez’s role as chairman of the influential Committee on Foreign Relations (a chairmanship that seems to be a major contributing factor to this mess). Menendez is not what one would call a conservative Democrat, or even a moderate on many issues, but he has been a steady hand on the tiller in terms of foreign policy. He has been something of a pragmatic hawk on national security issues, relatively strong on China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and (especially) Cuba, siding often on those issues with Republicans, at least those who have not become intoxicated on the new populist spirit of isolationism.

He’s enough of a hawk that one cannot help but wonder if at least a little of the growing frenzy among Democrats to call for his resignation stems from his inconsistency with trendy leftist worldviews. A lot of attention has been given to wayward Republicans who have drifted from the moors when it comes to America’s place in world affairs, but a lot of Democrats – in particular the progressive wing which seems to continue its ascendancy within the party’s ranks – are terribly uncomfortable with all of this talk of national security and American influence.

Policy-wise, having a CFR chair who is a realist on China could complicate climate policies which reward the PRC’s dominance in strategic minerals. A tough line on Iran could draw unwanted attention to the developing scandal surrounding security investigations of President Joe Biden’s now-deposed Chief Iran envoy. And Menendez’s noble stand against the enslavement of his ancestral Cuba certainly stymied long held Democratic hopes for “normalization” with the communist regime.

None of which de-legitimizes his removal from that position. But nothing happens in D.C. in a vacuum, and it will be interesting to see who replaces him as foreign relations chair and if that appointment will result in a bigger mess that Menendez left.

Kelly Sloan is a political and public affairs consultant and a recovering journalist based in Denver.