Convicted Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey will step down this summer after being found guilty on more than a dozen corruption charges.
The Garden State lawmaker’s lengthy bribery trial ended last week with a guilty plea to all 16 charges. He currently faces up to 222 years in prison for his crimes.
The jury found him guilty of accepting gold bars, cash and a luxury convertible from several New Jersey businessmen in exchange for political favors.
The Democrat has announced he will appeal his conviction.
But in an attempt to salvage some of his credibility, Menendez decided to throw in the towel and wrote a letter to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy about his plans to resign.
Menendez allegedly abused his prominent position as former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help a man negotiate a contract with Egyptian officials
“I hereby give notice that I am resigning from my position as United States Senator from New Jersey, effective at the close of business on August 20, 2024,” Menendez wrote to Murphy on Tuesday.
“This will allow my staff time to transition to other opportunities, transfer pending constituent files, go through an orderly process to select an interim replacement, and allow me to complete my business in the Senate.”
Almost immediately after the jury found him guilty, leading Senate Democrats called for their colleague’s resignation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Menendez to “do what’s right now for his constituents, the Senate, and our country and resign.”
But Menendez, in his resignation letter, opposed his conviction and said he would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court if necessary.
“While I fully intend to appeal the jury’s verdict all the way to the Supreme Court, I do not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that detracts from its important work.”
He also said that during his trial, Senate staffers were called to testify, further complicating his case.
The longtime lawmaker sat in a New York federal court for more than eight weeks as witnesses and prosecutors revealed chilling details of his alleged scheme to reward several New Jersey businessmen with favors in exchange for payments, prosecutors alleged.
During an FBI raid on his New Jersey home, cash was found in envelopes inside a jacket with the senator’s name on it
‘Furthermore, I cannot retain my rights in a successful appeal, because factual matters are not privileged before the Ethics Committee. This is evident from the fact that the Committee’s staff director and chief counsel were called to testify at my trial.’
The Democrat then bragged about his accomplishments and said the governor used to give him a great nickname.
“I am proud of the many accomplishments I have made on behalf of New Jersey, including leading the federal effort to recover from Superstorm Sandy, preserving and funding Gateway, and leading the federal effort to save our hospitals, state and local communities, and New Jersey families during a once-in-a-century COVID pandemic.”
“These successes have led you, Governor, to call me the ‘indispensable senator,’” Menendez wrote brazenly.
“I thank the people of New Jersey for the extraordinary privilege of representing them in the United States Senate,” his resignation letter concluded.
Democratic Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey was found guilty of participating in a years-long foreign corruption scandal that netted him gold bars, cash and a new car. His wife, Nadine, pictured above, is also charged in the scandal but will be tried separately
Menendez used his prominent position as former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help a man negotiate a contract with Egyptian officials, prosecutors explained during the trial.
And he used his influence as a New Jersey senator to stop a state investigation into another accomplice’s insurance fraud case, prosecutors said.
Menendez’s defense argued that the Democrat was afraid of running out of money and that his Cuban heritage was the reason he kept gold and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in his home.
Menendez is expected to be sentenced on October 29.