New Jersey Senator, Bob Menendez has officially resigned from the US Senate on Tuesday, after his conviction for bribery in July.
Menendez was found guilty on 16 counts charges tied on bribe.
According to BBC report, He will face a long prison term at his sentencing in October.
Menendez, 70, did not plead guilty to any of the charges but maintained his innocence and said he plans to appeal.
Until last week, Menendez rejected resignation, kept his name on the ballot for November re-election.
But in a resignation letter to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last month, the former lawmaker said he would resign Tuesday, August 20 to avoid becoming a distraction.
“I do not want the Senate to be involved in a lengthy process that will detract from its important work,” Menendez wrote.
Governor Murphy, a Democrat, is expected to replace Menendez with a close ally, his former chief of staff George Samir Helmy. Mr Hemly will hold the New Jersey Senate seat until a replacement is elected in November.
On Monday, Menendez filed a 30-page motion asking a federal judge to throw out the guilty verdict – the first step in what could be a lengthy appeals process.
“If sustained on such a surprisingly thin reed of evidence, these convictions will make terrible, dangerous law,” the filling said. “All of Senator Menendez’s convictions must be reversed.”
At his nine-week trial this year, prosecutors told jurors that FBI agents discovered more than $480,000 (£370,452) in cash stuffed in envelopes and coats in Menendez’s home, along with gold bars worth more than $100,000. Some of the bullion was presented as evidence.
His lawyers argued that the (£370,452) were gifts, it didn’t qualify as bribes, because prosecutors had failed to prove that he took any specific action as a result of receiving them.
