The News
New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was found guilty of corruption Tuesday in a yearslong bribery scheme that saw him receive lavish gifts in exchange for his influence as the powerful chair of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.
A jury found Menendez guilty of all 16 charges, including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and acting as a foreign agent. His wife, Nadine Menendez — whom federal prosecutors allege acted as an intermediary between Menendez and co-conspirators — will be tried separately later this year. Menendez is expected to appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors argued the Senator used his position to advance the interests of Egypt and Qatar in exchange for gold bars, a luxury sports car, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. The Menendezes have denied any wrongdoing, and his attorneys suggested in cross-examinations that the Senator was unaware of the deals his wife struck with alleged co-conspirators.
SIGNALS
If Menendez doesn’t resign, pressure will likely mount to expel him
Democratic lawmakers including New Jersey’s governor immediately called on Menendez to resign following the verdict, which he could refuse to do until after he appeals the case. But resisting resignation calls “would most likely create pressure on his fellow senators, especially Democrats facing difficult elections this fall” to hold a vote to expel him, according to The New York Times. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also urged him to step down following the verdict, but stopped short of threatening an expulsion vote. Menendez has already filed to run as an independent when his seat comes up for reelection this year, a move that “threaten[s] to complicate the dynamics in a race that would ordinarily be a layup for Democrats,” NBC reported.
Conviction shows Department of Justice is not politicized, former prosecutor argues
The “vigorous” prosecution of a senior Democratic senator shows that the DOJ “does not use political affiliation as a factor in making charging decisions,” wrote MSNBC columnist Barbara McQuade. The case can help refute former President Trump and allies’ claims that the Biden administration has weaponized the DOJ in the numerous federal court cases against the Republican nominee. Attacking the credibility of the justice system is just one tactic authoritarian leaders have used throughout history, McQuade wrote, but Democrats need to highlight the Menendez case to show that the DOJ acts independently, regardless of who is in office.
Menendez could be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to foreign influence
While the extent of the New Jersey senator’s corruption is “unprecedented” in US history, it’s likely that these types of foreign influence operations “go far beyond Menendez — and that we’re only just now learning about them,” Casey Michel wrote for CNN. It wasn’t until the Trump administration that federal prosecutors began launching anti-foreign agent prosecutions against prominent figures close to the former president, such as lobbyist Paul Manafort. But Menendez’s trial showed “how far these efforts go beyond figures like Trump or his inner circle,” and how successful foreign governments can be if they target the right Americans, Michel wrote.