DISGRACED Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey was convicted on all counts in his federal corruption trial.
Main Democrats are now calling for Menéndez’s immediate resignation after a jury in New York determined that the senator used his power on Capitol Hill to pocket thousands of dollars in foreign deals.
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A defiant Menendez criticized the verdict, declaring that he never violated his public oath.
“I am deeply disappointed with the jury’s decision,” he told reporters outside the courtroom.
“I have never violated my public oath. I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country.
“I have never been a foreign agent and today’s jury decision puts every member of the United States Senate at risk in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be.”
Menendez declined to comment on whether he will step down.
The embarrassed senator filed paperwork in June for re-election as an independent, according to NBC News.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer appealed to Menéndez to do the right thing.
“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must do what is right for his constituents, the Senate and our country, and resign,” Schumer said in a statement to Parliament. Political.
New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy echoed Schumer’s comments.
“I reiterate my call for Senator Menéndez to resign immediately after being found guilty of endangering national security and the integrity of our criminal justice system,” Murphy said.
“If he refuses to vacate his position, I call on the U.S. Senate to vote to expel him.
“In the event of a vacancy, I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve.”
CORRUPTION SCANDAL
Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, were charged with 16 federal counts in September after prospectors said that between 2018 and 2022, the couple had a corrupt relationship with three fellow New Jersey associates.
The couple accepted thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars in exchange for Menéndez using his position of power to protect his associates and the Arab Republic of Egypt, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors said Menéndez received bribes from co-conspirators Jose Uribe, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes that included mortgage payments on a home and luxury vehicles.
Nadine Arslanian and Hana reportedly collaborated to introduce Egyptian intelligence and military officials to the senator.
Menendez and Arslanian met with Egyptian intelligence officials at their Washington D.C. office in May 2019, according to federal investigators.
The group discussed smoothing the times between the US and Egypt after an American citizen was seriously injured in a 2015 airstrike by the Egyptian military using a US-made Apache helicopter.
Members of Congress objected to allowing certain military aid to Egypt because of that incident, and some lawmakers felt that the Middle East government was unwilling to fairly compensate the injured American citizen, according to the indictment.
However, shortly after the meeting, the Egyptian official sent a message to Hana saying that if Menendez helped resolve the matter, “he would sit very comfortably,” the indictment said.
Hana responded, “Orders, consider carried out,” according to court records.
The indictment alleges that after meeting with Egyptian officials, Menendez pressured then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to increase American involvement in stalled negotiations with Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to build a dam across the Nile River.
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