Influential Democratic U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, convicted in mid-July after a corruption trial, has finally decided to resign after resisting months of calls to leave his seat, New Jersey’s governor announced.
• Read more: Corruption Trial: Democratic Senator Menendez Convicted
• Read more: US Senator Bob Menendez pleads guilty to obstruction of justice
The 70-year-old senator formally announced his resignation to his team on Aug. 20, and he also informed Phil Murphy, the Democrat who governs New Jersey, which borders Mr. New York. Menendez’s home state.
“I received a letter today from Senator Bob Menendez announcing his resignation effective August 20, 2024. I will do my duty by accepting an interim appointment to serve in the United States Senate so that the people of New Jersey receive the representation they deserve,” the governor wrote on his X account.
Robert Menendez’s decision to leave his seat months before the end of his term will prevent him from launching steps to oust the Democratic Party ahead of presidential and legislative elections in November.
Although Democrats hold a slim majority in the Senate, New Jersey’s governor is expected to appoint a replacement for “Bob” Menendez until the end of the Legislature next January.
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However, Robert Menendez did not indicate whether he still intends to run as an independent to retain his seat in the Senate, as he previously announced.
The senator will be sentenced on October 29, ahead of the November 5 election.
On July 16, he was convicted by a federal court jury in New York of 16 counts, including conspiracy to pay bribes, conspiracy to act as an agent of a foreign government, and obstruction of justice in a case involving Egypt. and Qatar.
He appealed.
When the Menendez couple’s home was searched in June 2022, police found $480,000 (approximately $660,000 Canadian) in envelopes hidden in boxes, clothes or safes, or 13 bars of gold.
Bob Menendez is an old hand in US politics and an influential senator, former chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who resigned over the affair.
But he always refused to step down as a senator, despite pressure from the Democratic camp.
