Disgraced Democratic Senator to Resign After Felony Conviction
In the wake of his federal corruption conviction last week, Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey has set a date for resigning his post, according to multiple news reports.
Menendez will resign effective Aug. 20, NBC News reported.
The outlet said the U.S. Senate confirmed Tuesday afternoon that it had received Menendez’ letter of resignation.
Menendez — who until recently was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — was convicted in a jury trial last week on 16 federal counts of bribery and corruption after being accused of accepting gold bars and cash from representatives of Egypt and Qatar in exchange for favorable treatment, according to NBC.
Charges included bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent on behalf of Egypt.
He could be facing decades in prison when he is sentenced Oct. 29.
Menendez has said he plans to fight to overturn the convictions, but added that he is stepping aside to further the cause of party unity, according to the Washington Post.
“While I fully intend to appeal the jury’s verdict, all the way and including to the Supreme Court, I do not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work,” his resignation letter said.
Menendez had reportedly been receiving strong political pressure to take the action to strengthen his party’s hold on the Senate seat.
“[H]is decision to do so allows Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to appoint a temporary replacement to serve until January,” the Post reported.
Murphy is expected to make that appointment “quickly,” the New York Times reported.
If he had not resigned, Menendez faced the prospect of an expulsion vote.
“[W]ith his own party fast-tracking a vote to expel him, he chose to spare his party an ugly fight and avoid becoming the first senator ousted since the Civil War by quitting with months to go in his term,” according to the Times.
There were financial considerations that caused Menendez to time his resignation for several weeks in the future.
“By delaying his departure until August, Mr. Menendez will also ensure that he receives at least another month’s salary and health insurance, crucial lifelines at a time when his finances are crumbling and his wife, Nadine Menendez, is undergoing cancer treatment,” the Times reported.
“His resignation will not immediately affect his federal pension, but the senator could still stand to lose it under an anticorruption law if his conviction is upheld.”
It was not the Senator’s first go-round with federal charges, the Times noted.
“Mr. Menendez faced a criminal investigation soon after entering the Senate in 2006, and in 2017 he avoided a conviction on federal bribery charges after a lengthy trial in New Jersey,” the outlet reported.
“Soon after, he was reappointed to an influential role leading the Foreign Relations Committee — where, prosecutors say, he quickly began selling the power of his office for bribes of gold and cash.”
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