American Senator Bob Menendez will resign on August 20, 2024, following his conviction for taking bribes for corrupt acts including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government, he wrote in a letter to New Jersey's governor.
Menendez had insisted after the July 16 verdict that he was innocent and on Tuesday, July 23, in his letter, promised to appeal "all the way," including to the Supreme Court, he wrote to fellow Democrat, Governor Phil Murphy.
The Senate received a copy of Menendez's resignation letter, according to Senator Peter Welch of Vermont, who was presiding in the chamber on Tuesday. The resignation gives Murphy the ability to appoint someone to the Senate for the remainder of Menendez's term, which expires on January 3, 2025.
Menendez, 70, was convicted of charges that he sold the power of his office to three New Jersey businessmen who sought a variety of favors. Prosecutors said Menendez used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect his associates. They said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt.
He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt's government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the US embassy in Cairo and ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 in cash hidden in Menendez's house.
Menendez faces the possibility of decades in prison. A judge scheduled his sentencing on October 29, a week before the US presidential election.