JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/LEGAL/POLITICAL FIGURES: “As the bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez concludes, Senate Democrats could face a stark question — how long will they stick by the New Jersey Democrat if he’s convicted?
Menendez’s lawyers have a final chance Monday [11-6-17] in their closing arguments to persuade the jury hearing his case in Newark that the veteran lawmaker is not guilty…
Menendez has refused to say whether he’d resign if convicted. If he is found guilty, Senate Republicans are expected to quickly try to expel him from the Senate, giving GOP Gov. Chris Christie a chance to name a Republican replacement for the Democratic lawmaker.
But expelling Menendez — even if he is convicted of a felony — might not be that easy.
Republicans need a two-thirds majority in the Senate to agree to expel a member, which means they would need Democratic votes. With partisan tensions so high — Democrats are still bitter that Republicans denied President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland the seat last year, among a host of other issues — they are in no mood to cooperate with the GOP majority…
There is Senate precedent for letting Menendez stay in office even if he’s convicted. New Jersey Democratic Sen. Harrison Williams remained in office for nearly 10 months after he was found guilty on bribery charges on May 1, 1981, one of a wave of lawmakers caught up in the Abscam scandal, in which the FBI videotaped politicians taking bribes from an agent disguised as an Arab sheikh.”
-John Bresnahan, “Menendez could remain in Senate even if he’s convicted,” Politico, Nov. 6, 2017 05:22am