The senior US Senator for New Jersey got over on a previous criminal case….
This time ?
Guilty of all counts….
There will be a appeal….
He’s actually running for re-election, But the party COULD switch to another candidate
This IS a Democratic HOLD seat …..
Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey was convicted on all counts in a sweeping scheme to sell his office to foreign powers and crooked businessmen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car and bars of solid gold.
A jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted him of all 16 counts he faced, on charges including honest services wire fraud, bribery and extortion. Their verdict makes Mr. Menendez, a Democrat whose term expires at year’s end, only the seventh sitting U.S. senator to be convicted of a federal crime.
Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, called on Mr. Menendez to resign minutes after the verdict was read. New Jersey’s Democratic governor, Philip D. Murphy, also said Mr. Menendez should step down and said that he would make a temporary appointment to fill the seat should it become vacant.
Speaking to reporters outside the courtroom, Mr. Menendez said he was “deeply disappointed” and vowed to appeal the verdict. “I’ve never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country,” he said.
The jury, which spent about 12 hours deliberating, also returned guilty verdicts against two businessmen accused of bribing the senator, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana.
Sentencing in the case was set for Oct. 29. Several of the counts carry terms as long as 20 years in prison…..
Going forward?
Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey maintained his innocence on Tuesday and vowed to appeal his conviction on sweeping charges of bribery, extortion and obstruction of justice.
But the weeks and months ahead are likely to be perilous, and his conviction raises urgent questions about whether he remains a senator or a political candidate this fall.
Mr. Menendez offered few immediate answers.
Judge Sidney H. Stein set a hearing to sentence Mr. Menendez and his co-defendants for Oct. 29, just a week before Election Day. The senator, who was released on his own recognizance, could face up to 20 years in prison.
It took only a matter of minutes, though, for Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, to face renewed calls to resign his Senate seat, including from Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, and Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, who would appoint a replacement.
The Constitution does not prohibit felons from serving in Congress or running for re-election. And some of Mr. Menendez’s longtime allies said before the verdict that they expected him to dig in for a fight.
That path could lead to peril. If Mr. Menendez refuses to go voluntarily, he could face the threat of a rare expulsion vote in the Senate.
His prospects of holding his seat as a political independent seemed similarly vexed. Democrats already nominated a candidate, Representative Andy Kim, to replace him.
Mr. Menendez had said before the trial that he might run as an independent if acquitted. It was not immediately clear whether he would follow through. While there is next to no chance he could win, he could potentially siphon away crucial votes from Mr. Kim in a close contest….
You may not be up on the current situation with the claim “party may switch to another…”
They already have. Menendez did not run in the primary. Congressman Andy Kim won the D primary. The Republican primary was won by a moderate candidate over a Trump endorsed opponent. Menendez is currently running as an Independent. He was polling in the single digits before the conviction, but general election polls were showing a fairly close race between the Democrat and Republican.
As of now, Menendez has not resigned nor ended his Independent campaign for reelection.