By S.P. Sullivan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a trailblazing New Jersey Democrat whose influence spanned from Hudson County to the halls of power in Washington, was convicted Tuesday on bribery charges following a nine-week federal trial in Manhattan.
The verdict marked a long fall for Menendez, once an admired — and feared — figure in New Jersey politics whose last corruption trial ended in a hung jury in 2017. He now faces decades in prison after the jury convicted him on all 16 counts.
They included bribery, wire fraud and obstruction of justice, as well as the novel charge of conspiring to act as a foreign agent — the first time a sitting senator has faced such a charge.
At 70, the senator could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
“Obviously, I’m deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision,” Menendez told reporters outside the courthouse Tuesday.
“I have every faith that the law and the facts did not sustain that decision and that we will be successful upon appeal. I have never violated my public oath. I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country.”
Soon after the verdict, Menendez’s Senate colleagues called on him to step down.
Sen. Cory Booker called it “a dark, painful day for the people of New Jersey.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, said Menendez “must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign.”
Related news stories:
Schumer, Murphy lead calls for Menendez to resign (Washington Post)
What happens next for Sen. Bob Menendez? (Philadelphia Inquirer
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