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Disgraced New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez will resign from his seat, effective August 20, following his 16-felony count conviction.
On Tuesday, Menendez, 70, entered his resignation letter into the Senate record, shortly after privately informing his staff of the decision according to reports.
In the letter, addressed to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, he indicated he wanted to focus on his appeal without the complications of remaining in the Senate.
Menendez, a three-term senator who once chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was found guilty earlier this month of bribery, extortion, acting as a foreign agent and other charges.
Menendez accepted lavish bribes from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for wielding his political power to influence criminal investigations and secure deals in their favor – some involving officials from Qatar and Egypt.
The New Jersey senator initially pushed back on calls to resign from his Democratic colleagues after his conviction but amid threats of expulsion, he chose to resign.
The Independent has reached out to Menendez’s office for comment.
In September, Menendez was indicted alongside his wife, Nadine Menendez, and three businessmen: Wael Hana, Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.
The sprawling indictment accused Menendez of accepting gold bars, cash, jewelry, car payments, mortgage payments and more from the businessmen. Prosecutors said Menendez helped Hana secure a favorable deal for his Halal meat-certifying business and assisted Daibes in obtaining funding for his residential skyscraper development project through a Qatari royal family member.
He was also accused of giving Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman, highly-sensitive information about the US embassy in Cairo who then allegedly gave it to an Egyptian official and later ghost-wrote a letter on behalf of the government of Egypt, asking his Senate colleagues to release a hold on $300 million in US aid to Egypt.
Uribe later took a plea deal with prosecutors and Nadine’s trial was split from Menendez’s due to her recent breast cancer diagnosis.
The indictment was the second time Menendez was caught in a corruption scandal – the first, in 2015, ended in a mistrial.
After the indictment, Menendez stepped down from his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. But he maintained his innocence in the alleged scheme and said he would continue pursuing a fourth term as an independent candidate.
However, after a jury found Menendez guilty of corruption, bribery, acting as a foreign agent and more in July, leaders in the Democratic Party demanded Menendez give up his seat.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Governor Murphy and more asked Menendez to step down.
Menendez maintains he is innocent and said he will appeal the conviction. He faces decades in prison. His sentencing is set for October 29.
