Democratic Senator Robert Menendez will resign next month after being found guilty of all 16 charges in a federal bribery and corruption trial.
The New Jersey senator officially informed Governor Phil Murphy of his decision in a letter on Tuesday.
“This is to inform you that I will be resigning my position as United States Senator from New Jersey, effective the close of business on August 20, 2024,” Menéndez said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by NBC. News.
He said he chose that date to “allow time for my team to transition to other possibilities, transfer constituent files that are pending, allow for an orderly process to choose an interim replacement, and for me to wrap up my Senate business.”
Murphy, a Democrat, said in a statement that he received the letter and that he “will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to the United States Senate to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve.”
Two sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday that Menéndez informed some of his employees about his layoff plans. His departure date was the first reported by the New Jersey Globe.
As NBC News first reported last week, Menendez began calling allies, telling them he would resign from the Senate following his July 16 conviction by a jury of accepting bribes, including gold bars and cash. , for official actions for the benefit of Qatar and Egypt. He will be sentenced on October 29 and has promised to appeal.
Nearly every Democratic senator, as well as House members and other top elected officials in New Jersey, said Menendez needed to resign from his position, making his continued tenure untenable. Some threatened to force a vote to expel him from the Senate if he did not leave voluntarily.
Menendez is also under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee, which said in a statement Monday that it has initiated a “judicial review,” a mandatory step before making a recommendation to the Senate floor to expel or discipline a senator. The committee said it notified Menéndez and his lawyers that the committee voted unanimously to open the review.
Menéndez cited the investigation as one of the reasons he resigned. “While I intend to fully appeal the jury’s verdict, including to the Supreme Court, I do not want the Senate to engage in a protracted process that will undermine its important work,” his letter said.
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., is running for Menendez’s seat in November against Republican Curtis Bashaw. Menendez has filed for re-election as an independent, saying he would continue to campaign if he were exonerated.
Menendez served as mayor of Union City, New Jersey, and in the state legislature before being elected to Congress in 1992. After serving in the House, he became a senator in 2006 and became chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee. It was in that position (and as a ranking member of the panel when Republicans controlled the Senate) that he performed favors for foreign governments in exchange for bribes, jurors found.
The New Jersey senator was charged in a separate corruption case that ended in a mistrial in 2018; he also denied any wrongdoing in that case.
Frank Thorp V It is Dareh Gregoriano contributed.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com read the full story
