Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez resigned his seat in the Senate on Tuesday, according to multiple outlets.
The Senate Democrat announced his resignation following his conviction in a bribery scheme involving three New Jersey businessmen and the Egyptian government. Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signaled that he will replace Menendez with George S. Helmy, a healthcare executive and his former chief of staff.
A federal court in July found Menendez guilty of taking actions that would benefit the Egyptian government in exchange for bribes, including writing a letter to his fellow senators advocating for sending military aid to Egypt and providing the foreign government with personnel information related to the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, The Associated Press reported. Federal authorities found over $100,000 worth of gold bars and $480,000 in cash hidden in the now-former senator’s home.
Menendez has maintained his innocence, saying after his conviction that he was “deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision” and that he would be moving forward with an appeal. “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country, and I have never, ever been a foreign agent,” Menendez said.
The Democrat’s resignation comes after sources told the New York Post that he was negotiating a pardon with President Joe Biden in exchange for leaving the Senate race.
“He’s likely trying to get a pardon or a reduction in his sentence,” an anonymous New Jersey political operative told the Post. “Bob Menendez doesn’t do things without getting something back, and at this point I would think he would want to get out of the way to spare his kids the embarrassment, and maybe even help his wife.”
Menendez in July filed to run as an independent in the New Jersey Senate election, threatening to serve as a spoiler candidate and hand Republicans a Senate seat in a year where control of the upper chamber is likely to be decided by one or two seats. He ended his run on Aug. 16, Politico reported.
Menendez could be handed over 200 years in prison during his sentencing in October, according to the Post.
In addition to aiding the Egyptian government, Menendez was also convicted of helping one person who bribed him get a multimillion-dollar investment deal with a Qatari fund and another secure a contract to provide religious certification services for meat to be exported to Egypt, according to the AP.
Menendez has a history of corruption scandals beyond his July conviction, being indicted in 2015 for allegedly accepting $1 million worth of gifts and campaign contributions from a longtime friend in exchange for providing their girlfriends with visa applications and influence over Medicare billing disputes worth about $9 million, the AP reported. Menendez denied any connection between the gifts and the services, with a hung jury forcing a mistrial and eventually leading to an acquittal.
Democratic New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim and Republican businessman Curtis Bashaw are set to face off against each other in November to determine control of Menendez’s seat.
“New Jersey families deserve better than the continued corruption and made-for-tv political scandals, courtesy of Bob Menendez and the Democratic machine,” Bashaw previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Menendez could not be reached by the DCNF for comment.
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