American Senator Bob Menendez resigned after being convicted of corruption
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 resign, Reuters writes.
American Senator Bob Menendez resigned after being convicted of corruption
New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, will name a replacement for Menendez, who has represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2006 and was chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee before stepping down after being indicted last year.
Menendez, 70, was found guilty on July 16 by a jury in Manhattan federal court of all 16 counts he was charged with – including obstruction of justice, wire fraud and extortion – after a nine week process. Two co-defendants were also convicted.
Menendez’s resignation letter was read aloud on the Senate floor.
The case focused 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. Instead, Menendez directed billions of dollars in US aid to Egypt and tried to influence the prosecution of two of the businessmen, prosecutors said. Menendez plans to appeal.
Judge Sidney Stein set Menendez’s sentencing for Oct. 29, a week before the Nov. 5 election, in which he is running as an independent for another six-year term in the Senate.
Menendez’s resignation will temporarily reduce the Senate’s Democratic majority to 50-49 until Murphy’s appointee is sworn in to finish out Menendez’s current six-year term, which ends in January. Democratic US Representative Andy Kim is running for the seat in November and is the favorite to win in New Jersey, a Democratic-leaning state.
Source: www.mediafax.ro
