Sen. Bob Menendez Will Resign in August Following Indictment on Federal Bribery Charges
The news comes 10 months after the Democrat was indicted on federal bribery charges along with his wife, Nadine
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Bob MenendezNew Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has announced he plans to resign — news that comes 10 months after the Democrat was indicted on federal bribery charges along with his wife, Nadine.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced Menendez's resignation in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter). "Today I received a letter from Senator Bob Menendez informing me of his intention to resign effective August 20, 2024," Murphy wrote.
Murphy added: "I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to the United States Senate to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve."
Menendez and his wife were indicted following an investigation into their business dealings with three men who have ties to Egypt's government.
The 39-page indictment alleges that Menendez, 70, and his wife, 56, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes in exchange for protecting the three businessmen — Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes — and to "benefit" the government of Egypt. Some of those bribes, prosecutors say, came in the form of envelopes stuffed with cash.
"Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe — was discovered in the home, along with over $70,000 in Nadine Menendez's safe deposit box," the indictment alleges. Menendez, who was chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time of the indictment, has since told reporters the cash came from his "personal savings."
The senator also allegedly tried to "disrupt a criminal investigation and prosecution undertaken by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office" into another of the businessmen, Uribe.
The indictment adds that Sen. Menendez allegedly recommended that President Joe Biden nominate an individual for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey whom the senator "believed could be influenced," and would disrupt the prosecution of the businessmen.
Court filings allege that a search warrant of the Menendez home and safe deposit box executed in June 2022 turned up "cash, gold, a luxury vehicle, and home furnishings" that were used to bribe the senator and his wife.
Among the items allegedly found in the couple's home was a jacket bearing Sen Menendez's name and stuffed with envelopes of cash.
"Over $480,000 in cash—much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe—was discovered in the home, along with over $70,000 in Nadine Menendez's safe deposit box. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of Daibes or his driver," the indictment alleges.
Lawmakers on either side of the aisle have called on Menendez to resign following the indictment, including fellow Democrats like junior New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch, and Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman.
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