(RepublicanView.org) – Early this week, the Senate Ethics Committee announced plans to launch a formal investigation into the activities of Senator Bob Menendez, who was convicted on 16 bribery and corruption charges. Committee chairman Christopher Coons issued a statement saying it had notified the Senator that members voted unanimously to “initiate an adjudicatory review of his alleged violations of Senate Rules.”
Since the committee issued the statement, however, the Senator has announced his resignation, effective August 20. Menendez continued to deny any wrongdoing and confirmed he intends to appeal the guilty verdict but added that he does not want to involve the Senate in a potentially lengthy legal battle that “will distract from its important work.”
Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy will appoint a Senator to replace Menendez until elections in November.
Senator Menendez has held his New Jersey Senate seat since 2006 and has been embroiled in a series of controversies since that time. In 2017, a separate corruption indictment resulted in a mistrial, and the Senator insisted that charges against him were politically motivated.
Since he faced a new indictment last September, the support of fellow Democrats eroded and many key party figures, including Governor Murphy, called for his resignation. The indictment accused the Senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for the Senator using his influence in favor of New Jersey businessmen and the Egyptian government.
Charges filed against Menendez included conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, extortion, conspiracy to obstruct justice, wire fraud, and bribery. The Senator’s wife faces similar charges, but her trial date has been pushed back as she battles against breast cancer. Mr. Menendez told reporters in May that his wife was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer and would undergo a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
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