Lawyers for Sen. Bob Menendez (D.N.J.) said in court that they “misled” an FBI judge into obtaining a search warrant that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars, luxury cars, gold bars and more being stolen from Menendez. He claimed that it was seized by investigators from his home. It was stolen.”
FBI agents “broke down doors (sometimes unlocked) and destroyed closets, wardrobes, chests of drawers, and other storage areas,” the lawyers wrote.
Additionally, FBI agents seized “anything of value,” including approximately $500,000 in cash and 13 gold bars. Menendez's lawyers argued that prosecutors “actively distorted the evidence” uncovered through an “investigative investigation.”
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Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez appear in a Manhattan courtroom after being indicted on federal bribery charges in New York on September 27, 2023. (Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
“In order to obtain some of these search warrants, the government actively distorted the evidence was hidden “Significant exculpatory information misled well-meaning judges into issuing warrants that should never have been issued,” Menendez's attorneys wrote.
Prosecutors conducted a thorough and lengthy investigation into Menendez and obtained more than 20 search warrants related to his alleged co-conspirators.
“Nonetheless, none of the 'evidence' obtained from the search warrants of the alleged co-conspirators remotely linked Senator Menendez to knowledge of his involvement in the bribery scheme.” his lawyer wrote.
Most of the specific allegations that prosecutors allegedly “misled” a judge into obtaining a search warrant are redacted in a 34-page court filing.
According to the latest superseding indictment released this month, Menendez is charged with accepting bribes and gifts in return for supporting Qatari interests as part of a corruption scheme from 2021 to 2023, which The Justice Department announced that it will be a year longer than expected.
Menendez already faces federal charges for allegedly acting as a foreign agent and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to benefit the Egyptian government through his power and influence as a senator. There is.
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On September 27, 2023, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey arrives at a federal courthouse in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
The New Jersey Democrat has repeatedly maintained his innocence, insisting there is “no evidence” of any gifts or payments he allegedly received as a suspected foreign spy.
Menendez was first indicted on federal bribery charges on September 23, along with his wife Nadine and three other New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Duives. All have pleaded not guilty.
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FBI and IRS criminal investigator The Menendez's claim they received several gold bars and other gifts from Mr. Duybes, a New Jersey developer and former bank president who has been accused of banking crimes. According to the indictment, Menendez helped appoint prosecutors sympathetic to Duives.
