Prosecutors in the federal bribery trial of former New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez revealed Wednesday that jurors were given some evidence excluded from the trial.
Menendez was convicted on 16 charges, including bribery, conspiracy, fraud and making false statements, in July.
During the nine-week trial, prosecutors claimed that Menendez “put his power up for sale” by offering political favors in exchange for lavish gifts, such as cash, gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, furniture and payments on a home mortgage. The defense claimed the case was based on “guesswork” and there was insufficient evidence to prove that Menendez was guilty.
Menendez resigned from the Senate in August.
In a letter to Judge Sidney Stein, prosecutors said they recently found an error that caused a laptop given to jurors to contain several pieces of evidence that did not have the redactions ordered by the judge.
Nine government exhibits were missing redactions, which were ordered so the evidence did not violate the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. The clause protects speech relating to information shared by legislators.
Prosecutors argued that no action was necessary for multiple reasons, including that the defense reviewed the documents on the laptop before it was handed over to the jury and made no objections.
They also said there was a “reasonable likelihood” that the jurors did not see the incorrectly redacted exhibits, which were of “secondary relevance and cumulative with abundant properly admitted evidence.”
Menendez’s sentencing is scheduled for January 29. He has previously said he plans to appeal the conviction, and his legal team submitted legal filings to Stein requesting an acquittal and a new trial. In the filings, the defense claimed that prosecutors violated Menendez’s right as a lawmaker to speech and debate.
“The government walked all over the Senator’s constitutionally protected Speech or Debate privilege in an effort to show that he took some official action, when in reality, the evidence showed that he never used the authority of his office to do anything in exchange for a bribe,” his legal team wrote.
What’s next for Nadine Menendez?
Nadine Menendez, Robert Menendez’s wife, was also charged in the alleged criminal scheme. She was originally scheduled to be tried alongside her husband, but her trial has now been delayed twice.
In May, Robert Menendez said Nadine was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Stein delayed the trial of Nadine Menendez for the second time in July. The trial was adjourned “sine die,” which is the Latin term for “without a date.”
Robert Menendez was first appointed to the Senate in January of 2006 after the seat was vacated by Jon Corzine, who was elected as governor of New Jersey. Menendez was elected to a full six-year term in November of that year, then re-elected in 2012 and 2018.
The former senator was up for reelection again in 2024. He initially filed to run as an independent in June before ending his candidacy in August.
George Helmy, a former chief of staff to New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, filled the vacancy left by Robert Menendez’s resignation. He will serve until the certification of the general election on November 27.
Democratic Rep. Andy Kim will then take the seat after defeating Republican nominee and entrepreneur Curtis Bashaw in the election.
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