US Senator Bob Menendez resigns after corruption conviction
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[July 24, 2024]
By Moira Warburton, Makini Brice and Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Senator Bob Menendez submitted his
resignation on Tuesday in the aftermath of his conviction on corruption
charges including bribery and acting as an agent for Egypt's government,
bowing to pressure from fellow Democrats to give up the job.
"I will be resigning from my office as the United States Senator from
New Jersey, effective on the close of business on Aug. 20, 2024,"
Menendez's letter, which was seen by Reuters, said.
"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," the
letter added.
Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy will appoint a replacement
for Menendez, who has represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2006
and served as chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee
before giving up that post after being charged last year.
Murphy said in a statement he had received the letter but did not
provide details on when he would finalize a decision for naming
Menendez's temporary replacement. A spokesperson for Murphy did not
reply to a request for details about the timing of the decision.
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Menendez, 70, was found guilty on July 16 by a jury in Manhattan federal
court on all 16 criminal counts he faced - also including obstruction of
justice, wire fraud and extortion - after a nine-week trial. Two
co-defendants also were convicted.
A message referring to the letter was read aloud on the Senate floor on
Tuesday afternoon.
The case centered on what prosecutors called bribery schemes in which
the senator and his wife Nadine Menendez accepted hundreds of thousands
of dollars in cash, gold bars and car and mortgage payments from three
businessmen. In exchange, Menendez steered billions of dollars in U.S.
aid to Egypt, and tried to influence the criminal prosecutions of two of
the businessmen, prosecutors said. Menendez plans to appeal.
U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein has set Menendez's sentencing for Oct.
29, a week before the Nov. 5 election in which he is running as an
independent in a bid for another six-year term in the Senate, but is
considered a long shot to win.
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![](../images/072424PIX/news_u42.jpg)
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) looks on, following his bribery
trial in connection with an alleged corrupt relationship with three
New Jersey businessmen, in New York City, U.S., July 16, 2024.
REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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Menendez's resignation will temporarily reduce the Democratic
majority in the Senate to 50-49 until Murphy's appointee is sworn in
to finish what remains of Menendez's current six-year term, which
ends in January. Democratic U.S. Representative Andy Kim is running
for the seat in November and is favored to win in Democratic-leaning
New Jersey.
Numerous Democrats had called for Menendez to resign, including
Murphy, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Cory Booker, New
Jersey's other senator.
The trial was Menendez's second, after a 2017 trial ended when the
jury could not reach a unanimous verdict. Menendez then was censured
by the Senate ethics committee for accepting gifts from a wealthy
longtime friend in exchange for official favors.
Menendez was first appointed to his Senate seat in 2006, after
serving 13 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He then won
election three times to the Senate. He earlier served in the New
Jersey legislature and as a mayor.
For decades he has been a forceful voice on American foreign
relations, most recently advocating for additional aid to Ukraine
and Israel as Democratic President Joe Biden pushed Congress to
allocate more money to foreign allies embroiled in conflicts.
U.S. Representative Rob Menendez, the senator's son, continues to
represent a New Jersey congressional district across the Hudson
River from New York City, similar to the district his father
previously represented.
(Reporting by Moira Warburton, Makini Brice, Richard Cowan and
Jasper Ward; Editing by Will Dunham, Scott Malone and Daniel Wallis)
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