Resignation of Sen. Menendez, convicted of bribery, set to go into effect Tuesday

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Sen. Bob Menendez is slated to resign by the end of Tuesday after a jury convicted him on federal bribery charges last month.

Menendez announced in July he would resign effective Aug. 20 after a federal jury in New York found him guilty on 16 counts tied to allegations of receiving bribes from foreign nations and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

Last Friday, Menendez officially withdrew his independent bid to try to hold onto his Senate seat.

In a letter to the New Jersey Division of Elections, he requested that his name be removed from the ballot in November.

"I am advising you that I wish to have my name withdrawn from the ballot," Menendez wrote to Donna Barber, acting director of the state Division of Elections.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last week announced that he will appoint his former Chief of Staff George Helmy to fill Menendez’s seat until a successor is sworn in.

Helmy is expected to be sworn in on Sept. 9 when the Senate reconvenes from its summer recess, and his term will expire on Jan. 3. Democrat Andy Kim and Republican Curtis Bashaw are vying for the seat.

Prosecutors had alleged that Menendez, 70, accepted bribes from a trio of New Jersey businessmen that included gold bars, mortgage payments, a luxury car and more than $480,000 in cash. The payments were made in exchange for Menendez carrying out favors that included shielding individuals from prosecution and illicitly using his office to benefit the Egyptian and Qatari governments.