New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) plans to resign from the Senate next month after coming under pressure from fellow Democrats to resign from his post following a bribery scandal, a source familiar confirmed to The Hill.
The New Jersey Globe reported that Menendez will step down effective August 20. The Hill reached out to Menendez’s office.
Menendez temporarily resigned as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after federal prosecutors alleged he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from business associates, including the owner of a company that prosecutors said benefited greatly from their influence. de Menendez on US foreign policy.
The senator’s plan to resign marks an abrupt turnaround from the defiant tone he struck on Friday, when he accused the Justice Department of trying to force him out of Congress because of his “humble beginnings” as a Hispanic American. first generation.
Menendez’s political support from fellow Democrats quickly diminished as the most incriminating details of the federal indictment gained attention, including revelations that federal agents seized $480,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, $100,000 in gold bars and a brand new Mercedes-Benz C-. 300 convertible at the senator’s house in New Jersey.
While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.J.) defended Menendez’s “right to due process and fair justice.”Rtrial,” other Democrats, including New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, demanded his resignation.
“The alleged facts are so serious that they compromise Senator Menendez’s ability to effectively represent the people of our state. Therefore, I call for your immediate resignation,” Murphy said.
Prosecutors said Menéndez exerted his influence over U.S. foreign policy toward Egypt to help an associate, Wael “Will” Hana, obtain lucrative exclusive rights to certify U.S. meat exports to Egypt as “halal” and also used his office to pressure the US Department of Agriculture. so as not to interfere with Hana’s monopoly.
They also accused the New Jersey senator of trying to intervene in the criminal case of an associate of one of his co-defendants and in exchange received a Mercedes-Benz worth $60,000.
Menendez himself gave no indication of resigning last year when he accused federal prosecutors of “excesses.”
“They misrepresented the normal work of a Congressional office. Furthermore, not content with making false allegations against me, they attacked my wife for the long-standing friendships she had before she and I even met,” he said.
“I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down from the powers that be and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize that I was innocent,” he said.
Menéndez clashed with prosecutors and triumphed after being indicted eight years ago by federal prosecutors who alleged he participated in a bribery scheme with a wealthy doctor, Salomen Melgen, who was later sentenced to 17 years in prison for a bribery scheme. Medicare fraud.
The Senate ethics committee later admonished Menendez in 2018 for having “knowingly and repeatedly accepted significant gifts or consideration from Dr. Melgen without obtaining the necessary Committee approval.”
Prosecutors were unable to secure Menéndez’s conviction after his trial on bribery charges ended in a hung jury in 2017.
Yash Roy contributed to this report.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
