Bob Menendez’s resignation from the U.S. Senate became official on Tuesday, a much-anticipated move following his conviction on bribery charges in July.
The New Jersey Democrat was found guilty on 16 counts of involvement in a conspiracy in which he accepted bribes, including gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz, to help the Qatari and Egyptian governments.
When the verdict is announced in October, he faces a potentially long prison sentence.
Menendez, 70, has maintained his innocence and announced that he will appeal.
Menendez initially resisted calls for his resignation and kept his name on the November re-election ballot until last week.
But in a resignation letter to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last month, the former congressman said he would resign on Tuesday to avoid becoming a distraction.
“I do not want the Senate to be drawn into a lengthy process that distracts it from its important work,” Menendez wrote.
Democratic Gov. Murphy is expected to replace Menendez with a close ally, his former chief of staff George Samir Helmy. Helmy will keep his New Jersey Senate seat until a successor is elected in November.
On Monday, Menendez filed a 30-page motion asking a federal judge to overturn the conviction – the first step in what could be a lengthy appeals process.
“If these convictions are upheld on the basis of such surprisingly flimsy evidence, they become terrible, dangerous legislation,” the lawsuit states. “All of Senator Menendez’s convictions must be overturned.”
Menendez was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1993. He was later appointed to the Senate in 2006 by John Corzine, who vacated his seat after being elected governor of New Jersey.
At his nine-week trial this year, prosecutors told jurors that FBI agents discovered more than $480,000 (£370,452) worth of cash in envelopes and coats at Menendez’s home, along with more than $100,000 worth of gold bars. Some of the gold bars were introduced as evidence.
His lawyers argued that the gifts he accepted did not constitute bribes because prosecutors failed to prove that he took any concrete action in response to the gifts.
And they tried to shift the blame onto Menendez’s wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, who they described as financially strapped and hoping to “obtain cash and assets in any way possible.”
Ms. Menendez is also accused of bribery, but her trial was postponed so she could undergo breast cancer treatment. She has pleaded not guilty.
