Disgraced Democratic Senator Robert Menendez is scheduled to resign from office Tuesday, and is negotiating a pardon from Joe Biden before the president leaves office at the end of the year, according to political analysts and longtime associates of the New Jersey lawmaker.
Menendez’ was convicted last month on 16 felony counts of bribery and corruption for accepting cash and gold in exchange for using his powerful post to enrich and protect three businessmen and the Egyptian and Qatari governments.
“He’s likely trying to get a pardon or a reduction in his sentence,” said a New Jersey political operative who did not want to be identified.
“Bob Menendez doesn’t do things without getting something back, and at this point I would think he would want to get out of the way to spare his kids the embarrassment, and maybe even help his wife.”
Menendez could face over 200 years in prison when he is sentenced in October.
Menendez had been running as an independent in November’s election but dropped out of the race last week, paving the way for Democratic frontrunner Andy Kim to take his old seat.
Sources said dropping out was likely Menendez’s last bargaining chip. Had he stayed in the race, Democrats worried he could split the vote, resulting in a victory for the Republican candidate Curtis Bashaw.
His wife, Nadine Arslanian, has also been indicted on corruption and bribery charges although her trial has been postponed indefinitely as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.
After Menendez submitted his resignation, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy appointed his former chief of staff George Helmy to fill the empty seat temporarily, beginning in September.
“The last ditch efforts of Bob Menendez to try to secure a pardon by dropping out of a race he should never have been a part of and a last minute resignation probably won’t be enough to get him out of jail,” said Thomas Anderson, director of the Last Government Watchdog, a transparency and accountability group.
Rob Menendez, the Senator’s son, recently won the Democratic primary race in his New Jersey district to run for his Congressional seat, seemingly unaffected by his father’s legal troubles. Menendez’s daughter, Alicia Menendez, is a broadcast journalist on MSNBC.
Despite Menendez’s conviction, he and Arslanian have been spotted regularly dining out at their favorite spot in their neighborhood.
“They’ve been out at Grissini’s looking like they don’t have a care in the world,” said a former friend, referring to an Italian restaurant in Englewood Cliffs, where the couple lives.
The Post had previously reported switching his affiliation from Democrat to independent was Menendez’s insurance policy.
His conviction could also result in him losing his health benefits and pension, under the Stock Act, which punishes lawmakers convicted of corruption-related felonies by taking away their retirement perks.
The 70-year-old lawmaker collects a $174,000 annual Senate salary and would be eligible for a pension of nearly $140,000 a year plus health care for him and and his wife for life as a member of Congress with more than 30 years of government service, according to the US Office of Personnel Management.
Last month, in a letter to the Senate, he said he would resign on August 20. The date coincides with a pay day for Senate staff and senators.
Menendez was convicted in July in Manhattan federal court following an almost three month trial. He was found guilty in a sprawling scheme of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and a Mercedes convertible in exchange for favors.
Menendez, scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29, said he would appeal his conviction.
“It’s not the way he wanted the story for him to go,” said political analyst Hank Sheinkopf. “He is hoping for a pardon but it won’t happen now because all it would do is allow Republicans to use him as the poster boy for corruption in the Democratic Party.
“If it were to happen, it would happen after the November 5 election.”
A lawyer who represented Menendez during his trial did not return The Post’s request for comment Monday.
At trial Menendez’s legal strategy was largely to blame his wife for introducing him to the New Jersey businessmen who sought official favors.
“I’m deeply, deeply disappointed by the jury’s decision. I have every faith that the law and the facts are not sustained with that decision, and that we will be successful upon appeal,” Menendez said outside court last month, while insisting “I have never violated my public oath.”
