The resignation of the guilty New Jersey Senator, Bob Menendez, is due on Tuesday.
Menendez, 70, was found guilty of accepting bribes of gold and cash, and acting as an agent for the Egyptian government.
Menendez, the only US senator charged twice including the 2015 indictment when he was charged with letting a wealthy Florida eye doctor buy his influence through luxury vacations, sent a letter to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy after the conviction, signaling his intention to resign.
He was convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt’s government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents also said they found stacks of gold bars and USD 480,000 hidden in Menendez’s house.
He was also convicted on charges that he used his influence to meddle in three different state and federal criminal investigations to protect the businessmen.
Prosecutors 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.
The resignation appears to mark the end of a nearly lifelong political career for Menendez, who was first elected to his local school board just a couple of years after his high school graduation. He was also elected to the state Legislature and Congress before heading to the Senate.