(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On July 16, Senate Majority Leader and New York Sen. Chuck Schumer urged Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, 70, to resign after a New York jury found he was guilty of acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
In a statement, Schumer called for Menendez to “do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country.”
While many Senate Democrats had called for Menendez to resign even before his conviction, he refused. However, despite his conviction, Menendez has not indicated he will resign. Instead, he continues to claim he is innocent, stating that he has always been “a patriot of my country and for my country” and has never “been a foreign agent.” He noted that he would appeal his conviction.
Though he resigned as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the indictment was first unsealed, he remains on the committee, where he has access to sensitive information and classified briefings.
Menendez’s sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29. For the charges of extortion and wire fraud, he is facing a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. For all 16 charges he was found guilty of, he is facing a maximum sentence of 222 years in prison.
Schumer was not the only Democrat to call for Menendez to resign. The Democratic nominee for the Senate seat held by Menendez, New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim, stated it was “a sad and somber day for New Jersey” and for the nation. He renewed his call for Menendez to resign. Democratic New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker also called for him to resign.
Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called for Menendez to resign, adding that if he refused, the Senate should vote to expel him. The Senate can expel Menendez with a two-thirds majority vote.
The calls to resign come as he attempts to run for reelection to the seat as an independent after he gathered enough signatures.
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