(FixThisNation.com) – Democratic Senator Bob Menendez (New Jersey) was found guilty on all charges.
Menendez’s nine-week federal corruption trial in Manhattan concluded when a jury of his peers found him guilty on all charges.
Menendez pleaded not guilty to federal charges relating to accepting bribes to assist foreign governments. After deliberating for three days, the jury returned with a guilty verdict on all sixteen counts, which means Menendez faces a 200-year prison sentence. However, it is unlikely he will receive such a lengthy prison sentence.
The New Jersey Democrat’s sentencing date has been scheduled for October 29.
However, Menendez, who has refused to resign from the Senate despite calls for him to do so, condemned the decision outside the courtroom.
Menendez expressed being “deeply disappointed” by the jury’s verdict and suggested he “never violated a public oath,” nor had he “been a foreign agent.”
His attorneys revealed they plan to appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors in the federal case also gave a brief press conference outside the Manhattan courtroom after the verdict. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damien Williams, lambasted Menendez for carrying out “politics for profit” and highlighted the case spotlighted the “shocking levels of corruption” in Menendez’s office.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) replied by reiterating a request for Menendez to resign. Schumer noted that the guilty verdict required Menendez to “do what is right for his constituents, the Senate,” and the country by resigning from public office.
Those sentiments were shared by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, reiterating his call for Menendez “to resign immediately.”
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