A week after a jury found Sen. Bob Menendez guilty on 16 corruption counts, it was clear that the New Jersey Democrat’s future was bleak. Indeed, the question wasn’t whether the senator would resign, but when.
The answer has now come into focus. NBC News reported:
Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez will resign next month after he was found guilty on all 16 counts in a federal bribery and corruption trial, three sources familiar with the matter told NBC News. Menendez will leave office on Aug. 20, the sources said, with two saying he has informed some of his staff. One of the sources close to Menendez said the senator has written his letter of resignation and is submitting it and will resign.
The longtime senator didn’t have much of a choice. Senate Republicans have been silent, but Senate Democrats have been firm in arguing that Menendez needs to step down. Some, including Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, raised the prospect of expelling their criminal colleague if he failed to resign.
Now, evidently, that won’t be necessary.
The developments mark an extraordinary fall from grace for the once-powerful chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Revisiting our earlier coverage, federal prosecutors first indicted Menendez in late September, alleging that the New Jersey Democrat received “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes and used his influence to benefit the Egyptian government, among others.
Though the senator has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in court, it was difficult to deny the seriousness of the allegations. According to the Justice Department, Menendez received cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low- or no-show job and a luxury vehicle. Complicating matters, the longtime lawmaker struggled to present much of a public defense.
Roughly three weeks later, the senator was indicted again, and those charges accused him of providing sensitive information to the Egyptian government in exchange for bribes. What’s more, prosecutors alleged that Menendez acted as a foreign agent while serving as the chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
That was in October. In January, the incumbent lawmaker faced another round of criminal allegations, with prosecutors claiming he took improper actions in support of Qatar as recently as 2021 and 2022.
In March, Menendez confronted still more charges, alleging that he and his wife conspired to obstruct justice.
It was against this backdrop that the Justice Department — the one that Republicans claim is targeting the White House’s opponents — successfully prosecuted the Democratic lawmaker ahead of his re-election bid.
As for Menendez’s seat, Democratic Rep. Andy Kim already appears well positioned to win this year’s Senate race in the Garden State. In the interim, The New York Times reports that New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, is expected to appoint a replacement who would serve until January.
This post updates our related earlier coverage.
