On Tuesday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Senator Bob Menendez to resign after a jury convicted the New Jersey Senator on bribery, corruption, and extortion charges.
In October, Menendez was charged with acting as a foreign agent in a superseding indictment. The indictment, filed by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, alleged that Menendez “provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt.”
In January, Menendez faced a second superseding indictment for praising Qatar in exchange for luxury watches. Following this, in March, Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were charged with obstruction of justice in an 18-count indictment.
Special agents discovered $500,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes in closets. “Some of the cash was stuffed in the Senator’s jacket pockets,” stated U.S. Attorney Damian Williams last year. Additionally, Nadine Menendez was reported to have received a “no-show” or “low-show” job, a Mercedes Benz, and other valuables.
On Tuesday, a jury convicted Senator Bob Menendez on all bribery and corruption charges after a nine-week trial. Menendez did not testify during the trial.
Schumer, who had allowed Menendez to attend classified briefings even after he was charged with acting as a foreign agent, called for his resignation. “In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,”
Chuck Schumer – @SenSchumer
“This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption, hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, a Mercedes Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual; this was politics for profit. And now that a jury has convicted Bob Menendez, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said outside the courthouse in Manhattan on Tuesday.
WATCH:
“BREAKING – BATTLE FOR THE SENATE: Prosecutors Say They Uncovered “Shocking Levels of Corruption” As Senator Menendez Convicted of Bribery and National Security Offenses. He’s Running As An Independent and May Take Votes From Democrats. You May Not Be Paying Attention.”
Simon Ateba – @simonateba
Nadine Menendez will go on trial sometime next year after she completes her cancer treatments.