NY.– US Senator Bob Menendez resigned on Tuesday following his conviction on corruption charges including bribery and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government, bowing to pressure from fellow Democrats to step down.
New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy will name 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 resigning from that post after being impeached last year.
Menendez, 70, was found guilty on July 16 by a Manhattan federal court jury of all 16 criminal charges he faced, including obstruction of justice, wire fraud and extortion, after a nine-week trial. Two co-defendants were also convicted.
Menendez’s resignation letter was read aloud in the Senate.
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 bullion and car and mortgage payments from three businessmen.
With information from Reuters
#Senator #Bob #Menendez #resigns #corruption #conviction