Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is expected to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss bribery and corruption charges he is facing after being dealt another blow in federal court on Tuesday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia announced Tuesday afternoon it would not hold an “en banc” hearing on Menendez’s case. Menendez had claimed his constitutional protections as a senator were violated.
“As he has said from the outset, Senator Menendez has always acted in accordance with the law and that, once all of the facts are presented in court, he is confident that he will be exonerated,” Abbe Lowell, Menendez’s lawyer, said in a statement Politico obtained. “He believes the legal issues in his case are important enough to seek review from the trial court, the appeals court and the Supreme Court. These are the steps he has pursued and will continue to show that the allegations against him are wrong.”
If the highest court accepts their case, Menendez and co-defendant, Dr. Salomon Melgen, would have the benefit of a jury deciding instead of court-appointed judges.
Across Washington, D.C., the Justice Department is not waiting for the Supreme Court to make a decision. Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s agency has instructed a Newark federal judge to continue on with Menendez’s trial.
“It has been 17 months since a grand jury sitting in the District of New Jersey indicted Senator Menendez and Dr. Melgen for numerous counts of corruption,” federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday. “Accordingly, the Government respectfully requests that the Court schedule a status conference and set this case for trial at the earliest possible date.”
In April 2015, Menendez was indicted and accused of accepting $1 million in improper gifts and campaign donations as bribes in exchange for helping Melgen. The co-defendant is a rich Florida ophthalmologist whom Menendez has known for decades.
