Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer promptly demanded the resignation of his Democratic colleague, Sen. Bob Menendez, after a jury found him guilty on all charges in his federal corruption trial.
Also, for his part in a multi-year bribery plot, Sen. Bob Menendez, a resident of New Jersey, was found guilty on 16 counts, including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and operating as a foreign agent.
The Verdict is a Blow for the Democratic Establishment
A separate racketeering indictment against longstanding state powerbroker George Norcross is the subject of this verdict. It is a devastating blow to the Democratic establishment in New Jersey and a disgrace to the party’s national image.
Also, currently facing decades in prison and more inquiries into his use of power as the former head of the Foreign Relations Committee. Menendez is one of the most powerful and feared men in state politics.
Sen. Bob Menendez’s Case
Sen. Bob Menendez’s “years of selling his office to the higher bidder have finally come to an end,” according to Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office prosecuted the case.
Williams celebrated the conviction. Menendez showed little reaction as part of the verdict was read, instead resting his chin on his crossed hands.
Sen. Bob Menendez Expresses His Disappointment
When the jury was asked to comment on the decision, Sen. Bob Menendez shook his head in disapproval. A few of his relatives started crying.
Furthermore, on October 29, 2024, he will be sentenced. Menendez expressed his “deep, deep disappointment by the jury’s decision” to reporters outside the courthouse, adding that “we will be successful upon appeal.” “I have never violated my public oath,” he stated.
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Sen. Bob Menendez’s Biography
Born on January 1, 1954, Sen. Bob Menendez is an American lawyer and politician who has been the senior United States senator from New Jersey since 2006.
However, he was initially nominated to the U.S. Senate by Governor Jon Corzine and is a Democrat. He led the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations twice, from 2013 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2023.
Sen. Bob Menendez’s Net Worth
Bob Menendez’s political career has been dogged by accusations of corruption despite his relatively modest net worth of $600,000. Menendez’s career began at a young age, having served as the mayor of Union City. Also, a member of the Union City Board of Education while growing up in a family of Cuban immigrants in New York City.
Before being appointed to the US Senate in 2006, he had served as the 13th congressional district representative representing New Jersey in the US House of Representatives.
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Details on Sen. Bob Menendez’s Charges
Menendez is a prominent member of the Democratic Party and a legislator from New Jersey. Not to mention, he was charged by prosecutors with participating in three separate bribery schemes. In which he and his spouse took payments from business people seeking Menendez’s assistance.
Additionally, Sen. Bob Menendez assisted in directing billions of dollars in US aid to Egypt. Where one of the businessmen, Wael Hana, had connections to government officials. This is in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, and mortgage and automobile payments.
Calls to Resign
Sen. Bob Menendez may lose all chance of running as an independent for reelection after being found guilty. His conviction was made four months before the US election in November.
Also, politicians and progressive activists from Menendez’s own Democratic Party demanded his resignation as soon as the guilty judgment was made public.
Trust Violations
Additionally, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer stated on X that Menendez ought to “resign and do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country.”
However, Sen. Bob Menendez “violated the trust of his constituents and betrayed his oath of office.” This is according to a statement made by the Democratic governor of New Jersey Phil Murphy.
Sen. Bob Menendez Didn’t Defend Himself
Menendez refrained from testifying on behalf of himself. Arguing instead that he was representing his constituents in the usual way that a senator should.
Also, the government had not produced any evidence linking the cash or gold bars to bribery.
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Further Details on the Case
Caridad Gonzalez, the senator’s sister, stated in court in support of her brother. She said that their parents were immigrants from Cuba and that their father had warned them not to trust banks.
As a result, she wasn’t shocked when her brother requested her to take $500 out of a shoe box in a bedroom closet in the middle of the 1980s. It was typical. It’s peculiar to Cuba,” she remarked. Also, the fingerprints of Hana’s acquaintances were found on some of the cash packets in the Menendezes’ home, according to the prosecution.
Sen. Bob Menendez’s Wife
According to the court docket, the judge overseeing Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., bribery trial postponed his wife’s trial indefinitely. Nadine Menendez is a co-defendant in the case and is receiving cancer treatments.
In addition, U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein signed a brief judgment stating, “The trial of this matter is adjourned sine die,” which is Latin for “without a date.”
Nadine Menendez’s Trial
Barry Coburn, Nadine Menendez’s attorney, remained silent regarding the postponement. Her trial was postponed following her breast cancer diagnosis.
Also, she and her spouse were accused in an indictment from the previous year of exchanging cash and gold bars valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars for political favors from three New Jersey businesses.
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