After Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was found guilty this week on 16 federal counts in his bribery case, a report has circulated suggesting that the Democratic senator may resign from office prior to the end of his term in January.
NBC News reported that two sources familiar with conversations the senator has had with his allies in the aftermath of the guilty verdict indicated that the New Jersey Democrat will resign from Congress.
According to The Post Millennial, Menendez was found guilty of 16 federal counts, including acting as a foreign agent, bribery, obstruction of justice, and extortion. The senator and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were initially indicted last September on corruption charges.
The senator and his wife were accused of accepting bribes from Jose Uribe, Wael Hana, and Fred Daibes, three local business associates, and for accepting bribes from Egypt. The Department of Justice claimed the two “agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a Senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes, and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt.”
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Following the corruption trial, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) called on Menendez to resign from his position in the Senate, according to The Post Millennial.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Schumer stated.
Despite the NBC News report that Menendez is planning to resign in light of the federal bribery conviction, the Democrat senator has denied speaking to “so called allies” about his future plans.
“I can tell you that I have not resigned nor have I spoken to any so called allies … Seems to me that there is an effort to try to force me into a statement,” Menendez told Christine Sloan, a CBS New York reporter, on Wednesday. Anyone who knows me knows that’s the worst way to achieve a goal with me.”
According to The Post Millennial, if Menendez resigned, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) would be responsible for the appointment of someone who could serve the remainder of Menendez’s term, which concludes in January. The outlet reported that Murphy was one of the first Democrats to urge the senator to resign in light of the corruption trial.
The Post Millennial reported that Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Republican candidate Curtis Bashaw will face off in the November election to determine who will ultimately replace Menendez for the next term in Congress.
