Bob Menendez Reportedly Tells Allies He’s Resigning from Senate
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has reportedly told those closest to him that he will resign from the Senate after he was convicted of multiple felonies on Tuesday.
NBC News reported the long-serving senator had told his closest allies he would step down. The report stated:
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has told allies that he will resign from Congress after being convicted on federal corruption charges, two people directly familiar with those conversations tell NBC News.
Menendez, who had been defiant for months in the face of calls from dozens of Senate Democrats to resign, appears to have finally relented after the guilty verdict and growing threats to expel him if he refused. He is calling allies to them of his intention to resign, these sources said, ending would end a three-decade career in Congress that included a powerful committee chairmanship, writing major legislation and two criminal trials over allegations of corruption.
Menendez, who was first appointed to serve in the Senate in 2006, was convicted Tuesday of 16 crimes, including bribery, extortion, and obstruction of justice.
A federal court also found the senator failed to register as a foreign agent acting on behalf of the goverment of Egypt.
Menendez’s home was searched last year by federal agents who found cash and gold bars stuffed in clthing and in other areas of the estate.
The 70-year-old has refused to resign, ignoring calls to do so from fellow Senate Democrats – incudling Senate Majorioty Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and fellow New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker.
“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 said in a Tuesday statement, Politico reported.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) had also taken shots at his collegaue in recent months.
Mendendez said in March he would not run for reelction as a Democrat but announced last month he would seek another term in the Senate, running a campaign as an independent.
He will be sentenced on Oct. 29 and faces up to 20 years in prison.
