Jury selection starts in Menendez trial

Bribery conspiracy case could take six to seven weeks

By: Jonathan Stempel
Reuters

NEW YORK - Jury selection began Monday [04/13/2024] in the corruption trial of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, a case that could affect the Democrat's reelection prospects and help determine which party controls the Senate nextyear. [2025]
..... Menendez, 70, and two New Jersey businessmen face charges in a bribery conspiracy case in Manhattan federal court.
..... The senator's wife Nadine Menendez, has also been charged but will be tried separately.
..... All four have pleaded not guilty.
..... U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein told prospective jurors hat the trial could last six to seven weeks.
..... Menendez, New Jersey's senior senator, is up for reelection in November [2024] and if exonerated hopes to run for a fourth full term as an independent.
..... But recent pools show Menendez is deeply unpopular among New Jersey voters, and many Democratic senators including New Jersey's Cory Booker have called for him to resign. Democrats and independents who caucus with them hold a 51-49 Senate majority.
..... Prosecutors said the Mendezes accepted cash, much of it stuffed into clothing at their home, as well as gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for the senator;s wielding his political influence in New Jersey and to help the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
..... The senator allegedly promised to help Egypt, obtains arms sales and other military aid and helped defendant Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman, obtain a lucrative monopoly on the certification of halal meat exports to Egypt.
..... Prosecutors also said Menendez tried to help defendant Fred Daibes, a prominent New Jersey developer, obtain millions of dollars form a Qatari investment fund, and sought to disrupt a federal criminal case against Daibes in New Jersey.
..... Much of the case received by the Menendezes was stuffed inside clothing at their home, prosecutors said.
..... Menendez and his wife also face obstruction of justice charges. The alleged crimes occurred between 2018 and 2023.
..... A fifth defendant Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty to bribery and fraud charges in March [2024] and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Defense motion

..... Nadine Menendez's trial is scheduled for July 8. [2024] Her case was separated after her lawyers said she developed a serious medical condition that required a lengthy recovery.
..... Lawyers for Bob Menendez have suggested in court papers that if the testified he may try to blame his wife, disclosing marital communications that would "tend to exonerate" him but could incriminate her.
..... His lawyer said Menendez could explain why they discussed during dinners with Egyptian officials and offer his wife's explanation for why Hana and Uribe "provided her certain monetary items."
..... The defense lawyers also want a psychiatrist to testify that the senator routinely stored cash in his home because of a "fear of scarcity."
..... Defense lawyers said Menendez did this as a "coping mechanism" after the Cuban government seized his family;s assets before eh was born, and his father died by suicide after his son stopped paying his gambling debts.

Second trial

..... Menendez's corruption trial is his second.
..... In 2017, a New Jersey federal judge declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on whether Menendez broke the law by providing help to wealthy ophthalmologist, Salomon Melgen, in exchange for lavish gifts and political contributions.
..... Menendez became a senator in 2006. He had chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee but steeped down last September [2023] after first being indicted.
..... Several other current and former members of Congress also face federal criminal charges, including Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat, and former representative George Santos, a New York Republican.
..... While New Jersey;s voting population leans Democratic, public support for Menendez collapsed following his indictment.
..... Fewer than one in six voters polled in March [2024] by Monmouth University, Opens new tab and Emerson College Polling/PIC11/The Hill, opens new tab said they approved of Menendez's job performance. Even fewer said they would vote for him as an independent.
..... Several Senate seats held by Democrats or independents may be closely contested in November. [2024] A seat now held by West Virgina Democrat Joe Manchin, who is not seeking reelection, is expected to turn Republican.

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