Sen. Bob Menendez will resign from his U.S. Senate seat following his conviction in his federal bribery trial, a source tells News 12 New Jersey.
The resignation will take effect on Aug. 20, according to a letter sent to Gov. Phil Murphy's office.
The Senate also received a copy of Menendez's resignation letter, according to Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, who was presiding in the chamber on Tuesday.
"Without objection, the letter will be printed in the record and spread upon the journal," Welch said.
Menendez was convicted on July 16 for taking bribes for corrupt acts including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. He insisted after the verdict that he was innocent and promised to appeal.
The resignation gives Murphy the ability to appoint someone to the Senate for the remainder of Menendez's term, which expires on Jan. 3. The seat was already up for election on Nov. 5. Democrats have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who's in a strong position in the Democratic-leaning state. He faces Republican Curtis Bashaw.
Menendez, 70, was convicted of charges that he sold the power of his office to three New Jersey businessmen who sought a variety of favors. Prosecutors said Menendez used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect his associates. They said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt.
A look back at Sen. Menendez's history of corruption accusations
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 2:38
Loaded: 3.82%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -2:38
1x
Chapters
descriptions off, selected
captions off, selected
English
Captions
CC1
Captions
default, selected
This is a modal window.
He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt's government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the U.S. embassy in Cairo, ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 in cash hidden in Menendez's house.
After his conviction, Menendez denied all of those allegations, saying “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.”
Menendez faces the possibility of decades in prison. A judge scheduled his sentencing on Oct. 29, a week before the election.
The Associated Press wire services contributed to this report.
We rely on ads to keep creating quality content for you to enjoy.
Please support News12 by disabling your ad blocker.
Continue without disabling.
Choose your Ad Blocker
Adblock Plus
Adblock
Adguard
Ad Remover
Brave
Ghostery
uBlock Origin
uBlock
UltraBlock
Other
In the extension bar, click the AdBlock Plus icon
Click the large blue toggle for this website
Click refresh
In the extension bar, click the AdBlock icon
Under "Pause on this site" click "Always"
In the extension bar, click on the Adguard icon
Click on the large green toggle for this website
In the extension bar, click on the Ad Remover icon
Click "Disable on This Website"
In the extension bar, click on the orange lion icon
Click the toggle on the top right, shifting from "Up" to "Down"
In the extension bar, click on the Ghostery icon
Click the "Anti-Tracking" shield so it says "Off"
Click the "Ad-Blocking" stop sign so it says "Off"
Refresh the page
In the extension bar, click on the uBlock Origin icon
Click on the big, blue power button
Refresh the page
In the extension bar, click on the uBlock icon
Click on the big, blue power button
Refresh the page
In the extension bar, click on the UltraBlock icon
Check the "Disable UltraBlock" checkbox
Please disable your Ad Blocker
Disable any DNS blocking tools such as AdGuardDNS or NextDNS
Disable any privacy or tracking protection extensions such as Firefox Enhanced Tracking Protection or DuckDuckGo Privacy.
If the prompt is still appearing, please disable any tools or services you are using that block internet ads (e.g. DNS Servers, tracking protection or privacy extensions).