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Now. Expelled from the hermit kingdom, the u. S. Army private who bolted into north korea is in u. S. Custody. North korea saying their investigation is finished. Plus, senator bob menendez faces a federal judge and growing calls to resign. But the democrat is fighting back against bribery charges. Well have the details on what went down in court. Plus, skipping the debate stage for a swing state. The elephant not in the room. Former President Donald Trump will be a noshow at tonights republican president ial debate as his business faces serious trouble in court. Were following these developing stories and many more coming in right here to cnn news central. For the second time in his senate career, bob menendez has pleaded not guilty to federal bribery charges. A short time ago, the new jersey senator and his wife were arraigned and he is set to leave the courthouse at any moment. And we have our eyes on that. You can see this live shot here of the courthouse. Prosecutors saying that they both received cash gold and a luxury car in exchange for favors for the Egyptian Government. More than half of Senate Democrats are calling on him to resign. Last night when that number was slightly smaller but not that much, he dismissed the idea outright telling reporters that he will not step down because hes innocent. Kara scannell was at the arraignment for us. Tell us what played out inside of the courtroom. Reporter Senator Menendez and his wife entered pleas of not guilty to his bribery charges. The hearing lasted only about 30 minutes and were waiting for him to exit the courthouse now. What happened inside was that he sat there in the court flanked between his attorneys. He sat with his hands collapsed and he only addressed the judge twice to say yes, in honor. When he entered the courtroom, he came in through a side door which is where defendants are kept. You could see a cell in that hallway. It really gives you a sense of the seriousness of the moment. This arraignment only took about 30 minutes. He was released on 100,000 bond. He has to surrender his personal passport. He can keep his official passport and he also has a restriction where he cant have any contact with Staff Members of his office, of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee or political advisers who have knowledge of this investigation outside the presence of council. As we know from the charges in this case, they relate a lot to his time on the senate and the allegations that he took bribes in exchange for helping and aiding egypt. You can imagine a number of staffers were interviewed by investigators and that is why this provision is part of his bail and his release. He didnt answer any questions by reporters in the hallways. In fact, when he entered the courthouse today, he walked in holding his wifes hand, a codefendant, a partnership in crime according to authorities. When he left the courtroom today, they walked out again hand in hand. A sign of alliance between them. Now, she also entered a plea of not guilty in the case. She was released on 250,000 bond secured by their home. And she has to surrender her passport. They both have some travel restrictions, though, the senators is less severe because hes a senator. The other two defendants pleaded not guilty. We are getting sense that they are starting to wrap up this process. They have to sign paperwork for their bonds and they also have to surrender their personal passports. That is whats taking place inside the courthouse now. Were told its beginning to wrap up and were expecting the senator and his wife to leave momentarily. Their car is out front. Thats why you see the pack of cameras around it waiting for him. Theres also microphones. We understand hes walking out right now. If you can see him and his wife, theyre heading toward their car. And theyre not taking they are not making any comments, it appears, at this point, kara. Reporter right. It does not sound like he has answered any questions. He didnt answer any as he walked into court this morning and he didnt answer any leaving the courtroom. Now hes in the car. If you can see it, its starting to pull away from the curb and the courthouse surrounded by photographers and reporters. And here he is making hi s way past our camera now. Hes left the building after pleading not guilty alongside his wife and two other codefendants. I asked the senators aides if he was heading back to washington, d. C. , today, but i did not get an answer on that. I just want to go back, kara, as i think we heard the senators car honking, to these provision that is came about today, a couple of the one surrendering of the passport. He is not right now the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. So hes stepped down at least temporarily. You would presume then that he cannot travel internationally or he could for work. Thats one question i have. But the other one being, any staff having been interviewed, are you saying that he cannot speak to them not in the presence of a lawyer . And i ask that because how does he go about his business of the senate if he cannot talk to staff not in the presence of a lawyer . Reporter that does ask a very important question here. So the terms of his release, hes released on 100,000 personal bond. He has to surrender his work passport. His travel is restricted to the United States. Hes not allowed to have any contact with the codefendants other than his wife. But there is this provision of his release it says he cannot have any contact with his staff, staff of the the foreign Relation Committees or any political advisers with knowledge. Thank you, brianna. Outside of the presence of his attorneys. And that is a signal that there may have been some people who have knowledge of this investigation, of some of the issues that are alleged in this indictment and that is why that provision is in his bail. So he doesnt try to talk to any witnesses about what their possible testimony could be, brianna. That raises a lot of questions as you point out there. Kara scannell, thank you so much for being our eyes and ears on the ground at this arraignment. We appreciate it. And i want to bring in one of new jerseys top democrats. Leroy jones jr. Sir, i wonder, if you spoken to Senator Menendez since this indictment dropped. No, i havent, brianna. Whats your message to him right now then . So just giving the gravity of whats just been reported, you know, with the Bail Restrictions that he has, you know, the the inability that he has to discharge the offices, the responsibility of his office, its quite a great compromise for a person that is in such responsible position. I listened to my pastor this morning and she said something that just rang really loud to me that i think bob menendez should understand. And that is, the worth and value of a persons name is more important than a title. And thats why the call for resignation has been, you know, so voluminous lately because he should be concentrating on defending his name and alleviating the responsibilities of the title. I mean, hes accused at this point of giving Sensitive Information about u. S. Embassy personnel in cairo to Egyptian Government officials through his wife. These are some of the most serious charges in this indictment. Is this different and i know this is a bit of a political question. But its also because its a legal question about maybe what may be more damaging or more serious. Is this different to you than his last indictment . Well, you know, im not a lawyer. But just listening to the gravity and the content of the indictment and the charges that ensued with the indictment are extremely disturbing and, you know, very, very critical to the rule of law and it seems to breach the spirit of our constitution. So thats why and i i hate to keep going back to the call for resignation, but thats why it is critical that he begin to defend his name and leave the title on the table, you know, for purposes of just stepping away and understanding that he will not be able to discharge the duties given the conditions of the bail requirements. Weve heard menendez say that hes being targeted in part because hes latino. Does that ring true to you . No, i dont think thats relevant in this particular case. The charges are very serious, theyre compelling. It is not, in my mind, anything that speaks to a persons heritage or their ethnicity. You know, it is incumbent upon him to recognize that this is time to protect what your family has given you, and that is your name. Leroy jones jr. , we appreciate your time today, thank you. Thank you, brianna. Boris . Another major headline were tracking today. The u. S. Army private who ran into one of the most repressive nations on earth on purpose is now back in u. S. Custody. More than two months ago, travis king raced across the dmz while on a public tour of the Joint Security Area that separates north and south korea. This is a picture of king on that tour before making a run for it. You see the back of his head there. Of course, this is a rare move, this release, considering north koreas brutal record on human rights. Lets take you now to the State Department and cnn chief National Security correspondent alex marquardt. Do we know exactly how this went down, his release . Boris, i think you hit the nail on the head, it is a rare move. Its something that were still trying to understand. North korea saying today that they were expelling private king, that he had confessed to crossing the border illegally. Why exactly north korea decided to do this today is still unclear. What we do know now from Senior Biden Administration officials is that earlier this month, north korean officials told swedish officials that they were willing to release private king. Why sweden . The u. S. Doesnt have an embassy in pyongyang. Sweden is known as a protected power. They represent u. S. Interests in pyongyang. Now, this was the culmination, this release is the culmination of months of what Biden Administration officials are calling intense diplomacy, not just involving the u. S. , north korea and sweden but other countries as well. Certainly china was involved. We know that private king left through china. Over the course of the summer, hes been held since july 18th. There were concerns that private king would be used for propaganda purposes. Those never really materialized. There were concerns about his health. He has said according to officials to be in good health, happy and eager to get home to his family. There are questions about what north korea might have gotten in exchange. Biden Administration Officials are insistent that there were no concessions, that there was no exchange here. That this is north korea releasing private king. Private king was taken from north korea to china, from china he flew to south korea to a military facility, and then he is set to fly onwards home to the United States. Boris, we have heard from kings mother, she said that she will be forever grateful to the United States army and all its interagency partners. When private king arrives back to the United States, hes going to go to texas, hes going to go to a medical facility called Brook Army Medical Center for both mental and physical evaluation and treatment. Big questions still, boris, about what will happen in terms of Disciplinary Procedures because he had been he was being sent home back in july because of an assault that he carried out in south korea. Those issues were told by u. S. Officials will be addressed once private king is back up on his feet. Still many unanswered questions. Thanks so much for the update. Lets expand the conversation now with Washington Post columnist josh rogan. Thanks for sharing part of your afternoon with us. The u. S. Is saying that king was released without any concessions. Does that ring true to you . Look, to be sure, boris, thats very unusual. Charles robert jenkins, an army soldier who defected in 1965 was held for 39 years and used for propaganda before they let him out. Adam warmbeir was taken hostage in 2018 and returned on a stretcher and in a coma. Private king is a very lucky man who did a foolish thing by running across that broad. It took many governments to orchestrate this release over the last couple of weeks. And according to Administration Officials, hes in good health and good spirits. Hes happy to be on his way home. What happens next, well, after they things settle down, he could face a courtmartial because thats usually how the army handles deserters. You mention the machinations by china, south korea, and sweden in there as well, what kind of dealmaking goes on in a situation like this . Im still in disbelief that they would let him go in exchange for seemingly nothing. Right, most of the negotiations were logistics. Swedish officials had to fly into north korea and accompany him all the way to the north korean china border. The u. S. Embassy had to coordinate with the Chinese Government to pick him up and get him out of china. All of that is a huge logistical operation. Why did the north koreans let him go, i think thats the 65,000 64,000 question. Something that private king may have some insight into once he gets stateside. They didnt see the value of holding him greater than the value of releasing him. And it shows they dont want to deal with the United States. The kim regime has pointed towards china, theyre dealing with putin. They dont want to talk to us, even to get something out of releasing an american hostage. Thats not a good sign at all. What does it mean for u. S. north korea relations if they dont even want to have a conversation . Not much you can do except leave the door open for them and hope they come back to the table. I mean, ive argued in the Washington Post that we should put some more humanitarian and economic support on the table for the north koreans, try to, you know, get in between them and the russians and the chinese. But the Biden Administration doesnt seem interested in that. We can see this as a sort of moment of cooperation, but it doesnt indicate that theres going to be any Real Progress i think. All the other signs coming out of north korea state that theyre going to get worse, theyre going to build more missiles and Nuclear Weapons and come closer to our adversaries. And i think thats the bigger problem that the u. S. Government will have to deal with one way or another after they get private king home. Josh rogan, always great to get your perspective. Thank you, my friend. Any time. Brianna . Oh, actually. Stay right here. Still ahead, four days until a Government Shutdown. Speak Kevin Mccarthy is test driving a new strategy. Blame everybody else but the republican hardliners that are holding up that government funding deal. Seven republican president ial candidates will take the debate stage tonight. None of them named donald trump. Were going to preview what to expect. And widescale looting across philadelphia overnight. The Police Commissioner calling it an attempt to destroy our city. Much more on this news still to come. Stay with cnn. The federal government is on track to shut down here in four days and the deal that Senate Leaders just cut that could prevent it is on a road to nowhere in the house. Under pressure from republican hardliners, speaker Kevin Mccarthy wont offer the senates stopgap bill to the house. Hes deflecting from his conferences infighting and placing the blame elsewhere. The senate has done nothing. The senate has not done one thing when it comes to appropriations. Is that different . No. Normally the senate doesnt bring them up in the committee. The senate has done nothing. Lauren fox is on capitol hill for us. Tell us where things stand. Yeah, if it feels like were headed or marching toward a Government Shutdown, it is because we are. The two sides are extremely divided right now and this is not just about republicans and democrats. This is about the house and senate. As you noted, the senate announcing yesterday that they had a bipartisan deal on a bill to fund the government through innovate 17th. It included 6 billion in disaster aid, 6 billion in ukraine assistance, but that bill is Doed On Arrival in the house of representatives. And House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy is pledging to his members that no matter what, if the votes are there or not, on friday, he is going to bring a shortterm resolution to the floor of the house and force his members to vote on it. The expectation, the hope from some of his allies is that some of those hardliners who have been saying all of this time that they are opposed to any shortterm Spending Bill, that they will start to see the light given the fact that they are closing in on a potential Government Shutdown on saturday night. That, of course, is a huge gamble for mccarthy. Time after time over the last several weeks, his hardliners have proven again and again that they are not willing to cave. And one of those members who came out of the house Conference Meeting this morning where leadership was trying to encourage their members to unite, to be a team,