For months, the New Jersey senator has been dealing with trial for conspiracy to commit bribery, accused of buying and selling political energy for wads of money, a luxurious automobile, and gold bars.

A 12-member jury on Tuesday discovered Senator Bob Menendez, 70, responsible on all 16 counts in his federal corruption trial, together with accepting bribes of gold and money from three New Jersey businessmen and performing as a international agent for the Egyptian authorities.

“I am deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision. I have every faith that the law and the facts will not sustain that decision and that we will be successful upon appeal,” Menendez instructed reporters exterior the courthouse Tuesday. “I have never violated my public oath.”

Prosecutors stated the New Jersey lawmaker abused the ability of his workplace to guard allies from felony investigations and enrich associates, together with his spouse, Nadine Menendez. This concerned acts comparable to assembly with Egyptian intelligence officers and serving to the nation entry thousands and thousands of {dollars} in U.S. army assist.

“Throughout this trial, you have heard that everyone is to blame but Menendez,” prosecutor Paul Monteleoni stated, accusing the as soon as extremely influential senator of “trying desperately to pass the buck.”

At the top of a virtually six-hour closing assertion delivered over two days, the prosecutor repeated the phrase “blaming his wife” 5 instances to remind jurors that Menendez’s attorneys have claimed that Nadine “sidelined” him from the scheme and stashed the gold bars in her protected with out his information.

Menendez, who faces sentencing on October 29, maintained that he has by no means been something “but a patriot of my country and for my country.”

“I have never, ever been a foreign agent, and the decision rendered by the jury today would put at risk every member of the US Senate in terms of what they think a foreign agent would be,” he stated.

“His years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”

New York U.S. Attorney Damian Williams speaks after Sen. Bob Menendez is discovered responsible on all counts in corruption trial. pic.twitter.com/cdrqyr6kbi

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 16, 2024

Menendez was in search of reelection to the Senate as an unbiased, though the responsible verdicts shortly raised the prospect of an expulsion vote until he opts to resign from workplace. He has already confronted calls to resign from his former Democratic allies in New Jersey and on Capitol Hill.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer launched an announcement saying, “Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign.”

Democratic Senator Jack Reed stated on X, “He had his day in court and got a fair trial. The jury has spoken. Senator Menendez has been found guilty and should resign.”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy shared on X, “Today’s verdict[…]demonstrates that the Senator broke the law, violated the trust of his constituents, and betrayed his oath of office. In America, everyone – no matter how powerful – is accountable to our laws.”

The requires his resignation are the most recent in a sequence of comparable appeals, courting again to 2017 when Menendez confronted a separate set of corruption fees.