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NEW YORK — Bob Menendez has formally requested that a judge overturn his guilty verdicts which led to his resignation from the U.S. Senate and grant him a new trial on bribery charges.
In court documents submitted to the Manhattan federal court, attorneys representing the New Jersey Democrat cited a recent disclosure from prosecutors regarding irregular evidence being included on a computer used by jurors during their deliberations, asserting that this error mandates a new trial.
Menendez, who is 70 years old, was found guilty in July on 16 counts, including bribery, wherein he was accused of accepting illicit payments in exchange for political favors, specifically regarding U.S. military aid to Egypt. He is currently awaiting sentencing, scheduled for January 29, having resigned from the Senate in August following his conviction.
During the trial, prosecutors outlined how Menendez allegedly received gold and cash from three businessmen from New Jersey in return for various favors.
In a recent letter to Judge Sidney H. Stein, prosecutors acknowledged that they had discovered factual material intended to be excluded that instead was inadvertently added to the jury’s deliberation materials. This includes nine government exhibits that were improperly presented because they were missing necessary redactions as per Stein’s directives to comply with the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which safeguards legislative communication.
The prosecution argued that no further action was necessary regarding this mistake, stating that defense counsel did not raise any objections after reviewing the materials on the provided laptop prior to jury deliberations. They also claimed there was a “reasonable likelihood” that jurors did not view the incorrectly redacted versions and maintained that the documents would not have biased the defense, as the information was deemed of “secondary relevance.”
However, Menendez’s legal team contested this view, arguing that the improperly presented evidence was crucial, being the only facts establishing any connection between Menendez and the military aid to Egypt, which lies at the core of the charges against him. They contended, “Given this significant procedural error, a new trial is unavoidable, even considering the extensive resources allocated to the initial trial.”
The defense accused the government of attempting to shift the responsibility for this error onto them due to their preliminary review of the laptop’s contents. They expressed strong discontent, stating, “That is both factually and legally outrageous. The defense had only a few hours to scrutinize nearly 3,000 exhibits, and it had every right to presume that all presented materials were correctly labeled and constitutionally permissive. If this were regarded as a waiver, it could incentivize parties to engage in deceptive practices.”
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abcnews.go.com