A week after a jury found Sen. , it was clear that the New Jersey Democrat’s future was bleak. Indeed, the question wasn’t whether the senator would resign, but when.
The answer has now come into focus. : The longtime senator didn’t have much of a choice. Senate Republicans , but Senate Democrats have been firm in arguing that Menendez needs to step down.
Some, including Sens. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, raised the prospect their criminal colleague if he failed to resign. Now, evidently, that won’t be necessary.
The developments mark an extraordinary fall from grace for the once-powerful chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Revisiting our , federal prosecutors first Menendez in late September, alleging that the New Jersey Democrat received “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes and used his influence to benefit, among others, the Egyptian government. Though the senator has denied any wrongdoing, and he in court, it was difficult to deny .
According to the Justice Department, Menendez received, among other things, cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low- or no-show job, and a luxury vehicle. Complicating matters, the longtime lawmaker to present much of a public defense. Roughly three weeks later, the senator was , and those charges accused him of providing sensitive information to the Egyptian government in exchange for bribes.
What’s more, prosecutors alleged that Menendez acted as a foreign agent while serving as the chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee. That was in October. In January, the incumbent lawmaker faced , with prosecutors claiming he took improper actions in support of Qatar as recently as 2021 and 2022.
In March, Menendez confronted , alleging that he and his wife conspired to obstruct justice. It was against this backdrop that the Justice Department — the one that Republicans claim to be targeting the White House’s opponents — . As for Menendez’s seat, Democratic Rep.
Andy Kim already appears well positioned to win this year’s Senate race in the Garden State. In the interim, The New York Times that New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Phil Murphy, is expected to appoint a replacement who would serve until January. .
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