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Louise Thomas
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New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez will resign from his seat, effective August 20, following his 16-felony charge conviction, according to reports.
Menendez, a three-term senator who once chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was found guilty of bribery, extortion, acting as a foreign agent and more earlier this month.
Prosecutors said Menendez accepted lavish bribes from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for wielding his political power to influence criminal investigations and secure deals with foreign government officials.
The New Jersey senator initially pushed back on calls to resign from his Democratic colleagues after his conviction. But sources briefed on the discussion told The Washington Post the senator plans to resign and publicly announce it as early as Tuesday.
The Independent has reached out to Menendez’s team for comment.
For months, Menendez’s colleagues called on the senator to resign his seat.
In September, Menendez was indicted alongside his wife, Nadine Menendez, and three businessmen: Wael Hana, Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe.
The sprawling indictment accused Menendez of accepting gold bars, cash, jewelry, car payments, mortgage payments and more from the businessmen in exchange for securing favorable deals, intervening in criminal investigations and helping snag funding for projects.
It was the second time Menendez was caught in a corruption scandal – the first, in 2015, ended in a mistrial.
Uribe later took a plea deal with prosecutors and Nadine’s trial was split from Menendez’s due to her recent breast cancer diagnosis.
After the indictment, Menendez stepped down from his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
But after a jury found Menendez guilty of corruption, bribery, acting as a foreign agent and more for his part in the brazen corruption scheme, leaders in the Democratic Party demanded Menendez give up his seat.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and more asked Menendez to step down.
This is a breaking news story, more follows…
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