Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, has announced his resignation from the Senate following pressure from fellow Democrats after being found guilty in his federal corruption case. The resignation letter was submitted into the congressional record by Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat from Vermont, who was acting as chair of the Senate.
Menendez informed Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey that he would step down after August 20. The guilty verdict on all 16 counts, including charges of extortion, bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, wire fraud, and acting as a foreign agent, was delivered last week after a nine-week trial and three days of jury deliberation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, along with nearly all Senate Democrats, called for Menendez's resignation in light of the verdict. Menendez, who has served in the Senate since 2006 and was re-elected twice, has expressed his intention to appeal the conviction.
In 2015, Menendez faced indictment on charges of conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud related to gifts from a wealthy ophthalmologist. A mistrial was declared in 2017, and prosecutors decided not to retry the case in 2018.
If Menendez had not resigned following the guilty verdict, there were threats of expulsion from the Senate, a rare occurrence that requires a two-thirds majority vote. Expulsion from the Senate has been infrequent, with the last instance dating back to the 1800s. Notably, former Senator Bob Packwood resigned in 1995 to avoid expulsion.
Only 15 senators have ever been expelled, mostly during the Civil War era. In other cases, expulsion efforts for corruption have often ended with the lawmaker leaving office voluntarily or with proceedings being dropped.
