George Helmy Steps In! Bob Menendez Steps Out!

Today Bob Menendez becomes a private citizen and a convicted felon.

Bob Menendez, the independent senator from New Jersey finally steps down after he was found guilty in campaign finance fraud as well as failing to register as a foreign agent.

Menendez who was defiant and vowed to run for reelection. Menendez l11eft the Democratic Party and abandoned his bid once the trial resulted in a guilty verdict.

They wanted him to resign.

Menendez said: "It is not lost on me how quickly some are rushing to judge a Latino and push him out of his seat. I am not going anywhere." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said that Menendez "has a right to due process and a fair trial".

Jury selection for Menendez's trial began on May 13, 2024. On June 4, an FBI agent testified about surveillance she had conducted against Menendez in May 2019 at Morton's The Steakhouse in Washington, D.C., where Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were dining with three others, including an Egyptian official. Agents also testified about a search they performed of a safe deposit box in New Jersey Nadine Menendez used, in which they found $80,000 in cash. The defense noted that Menendez himself had never accessed the safety deposit box.

On June 6, the prosecution called former New Jersey attorney general Gurbir Grewal to the stand. Grewal told the court that in September 2019 Menendez invited him to a meeting at Menendez's office in Newark, at which Menendez complained about Grewal's office's treatment of Hispanic defendants in a trucking insurance fraud investigation; when Menendez made clear he was referring to an ongoing case, Grewal ended the meeting and left.

Closing arguments took place on July 9 and 10. Jury deliberations began on July 12. On July 16, the jury convicted Menendez of accepting bribes. Sentencing will take place on October 29, one week before election day.

Gov. Phil MuMurphy with Senate-designate George Helmy.

Beginning in late 2022, questions were raised about whether Menendez or his wife accepted allowable gifts from an Edgewater, New Jersey, halal meat provider and whether an Egyptian firm received unwarranted favorable treatment. Subpoenas unrelated to the latter firm were issued in May 2023 to Nicholas Sacco, the mayor of North Bergen, New Jersey, and others. Investigators found $480,000 in cash and more than $100,000 worth of gold bars at Menendez's home. On September 22, 2023, federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged five people, including Menendez and his wife Nadine, with corruption in a new indictment. Among the allegations in the indictment was that Menendez "provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt".

The indictment alleges that Menendez used his position to pressure prosecutors in New Jersey who were involved in the cases of his friends Fred Daibes and Jose Uribe in exchange for financial gifts from the two men. According to the Senate Historical Office, Menendez is the first sitting senator to be indicted on two unrelated criminal matters. After the indictment, he gave up his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Now tasked with a pick, Gov. Phil Murphy announced he will pick his former chief of staff George Helmy to fulfill the term until the 2024 senate election results. It also ends the noise concerns he would pick his wife to fill the term. 

Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ) and Curtis Bashaw will face off in November. If Kim wins, he will be New Jersey's first Asian American elected to the Senate.

Menendez, who had represented New Jersey in the Senate since 2006, began to face an uncertain political future after he was indicted for federal corruption charges in 2023, his second federal corruption indictment. Amid questions over whether Menendez would seek a fourth term, a contentious Democratic primary followed between Kim and First Lady of New Jersey Tammy Murphy that was marked by allegations of nepotism and party favoritism towards Murphy. 

Tammy Murphy, the first lady of New Jersey abandoned her senate bid and endorsed Andy Kim. The race would be interesting had Menendez stayed in and a MAGA Republican won.

In March, Menendez announced he would not seek the Democratic nomination and Murphy withdrew from the race, leaving Kim as the only major Democratic candidate. 

Menendez filed to run as an independent ahead of the June primaries, but after being convicted of federal corruption the following month, he announced he would resign and end his candidacy.

In the June 4 primary, Kim won the Democratic nomination with 75% of the vote. Bashaw won the Republican nomination with 45% of the vote, defeating Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, who was endorsed by former president Donald J. Trump and his allies. 

Republicans will likely abandon New Jersey with Menendez out. Had he stayed in the race and Glassner was in the race, it would still favor Menendez but it would be a nail biter. 

Kim is likely to win his race.

Kim is a staunch supporter of Israel. AIPAC is backing him and his opponent Bashaw.

Had it been Murphy, it would have still favored Democrats despite the noise claiming she would be a nepotism nominee. Murphy may consider running for the House of Representatives in the near future.

Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) and MSNBC host Alicia Menendez are the children of Menendez.