Don’t be distracted by shiny objects.
Or 13 shiny objects, like gold bars.
That is the goal of Senator Bob’s lawyers. Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey. The senator is on trial for the second time in less than a decade on unrelated charges.
U.S. senators don’t often go to trial. The late Sen. Ted Stevens, a Republican from Alaska, went to trial in 2008, and a jury convicted Stevens. Stevens then overturned his case. Mr. Stevens died in a plane crash after losing his reelection bid.
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez faces second federal corruption trial with jury selection starting Monday
But who was the last U.S. senator to go on trial?
Bob Menendez in 2017.
Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) speaks during a Senate Finance Hearing at the Capitol on March 21, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
In the case, Menendez was accused of accepting lavish gifts to favor an eye doctor. The case resulted in a suspended jury.
Menendez blamed prosecutors for even starting the case. And when the incident was over, he broke down in tears.
“The way this case started was wrong. The investigation was wrong. The prosecution was wrong. The trial was wrong,” Menendez said. “The FBI and some people in the state cannot understand, or worse, cannot accept that a Latino kid from Union City and Hudson County could grow up to be a U.S. senator.”
Menendez appears to have found redemption in being given a second reprieve from his political career.
“Today is Resurrection Day. I would like to once again thank God for standing before you 11 weeks ago when I entered this courtroom as an innocent man,” Menendez said at the time.
He then ran for re-election in 2018 and was elected.
The government says that’s where the problems started.
Menedez is accused of accepting bribes from Garden State businessmen in exchange for favors. Some of them act as foreign agents for Qatar. That’s where gold bars come in. The Fed accuses Menendez of accepting gold bars from New Jersey businessman Fred Duives in exchange for using his muscle to help with a deal with a Qatari investment fund.
The goal of Menendez’s defense attorneys is to convince jurors that there is not necessarily a connection between the gold bullion and public favors.
However, prosecutors will point out that Menendez conducted multiple internet searches trying to determine the value of gold bars in kilograms.
Other charges target Mr. Menendez and the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Investigators say they were acting on Egyptian orders. In particular, federal authorities have accused Mr. Menendez of writing shadow letters on behalf of senators in an attempt to clear the Senate’s hold on $300 million in military aid targeted at Cairo.
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Prosecutors also accuse Menendez of accepting payments to help Egyptian-American businessman Wael Hana reach an agreement with the Egyptian government. Hana wanted Egyptians to prove that imported halal meat met appropriate dietary guidelines for Muslims.
Menendez argued that working with constituents is exactly the job of a lawmaker.
“What a terrible impact it would have on just engagement and these conversations,” Menendez said of lawmakers simply interacting with people seeking government assistance. “The United States Attorney’s Office is engaged in persecution, not prosecution. They are looking for victory. Not justice.”
Jury selection took place over several days.
Sen. Bob Menendez (DN.J.) listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on December 7, 2023 in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
On the first day, Judge Sidney Stein dismissed all 38 potential jurors and then called 50 new potential jurors. One potential juror cited her work at the Rockland County Humane Society in New York as a problem with her work.
Another woman said she was planning a non-refundable trip to Rome. Stein let her go, but wondered why she wouldn’t get a refund.
A children’s librarian from Greenwich, Conn., was also one of the potential jurors. After she left, Stein gave her opinion on her work in another life.
“I’m telling you, that’s what I would do. I’m a children’s librarian,” Stein said.
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It’s probably not that different from negotiating the terms of a U.S. senator’s federal trial.
One prospective juror told the court about his fear of heights, noting that the courtroom is on the 23rd floor of the Daniel P. Moynihan Courthouse in Lower Manhattan.
Another prospective juror announced that he had just had an ingrown toenail removed and was unable to serve on trial due to a series of other illnesses.
After defending her, Stein said, “I think she’s a big problem.”
At least it wasn’t a hangnail.
And in the end, Stein’s goal is to avoid a hung jury.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey (left) and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at a federal courthouse in New York on September 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Gina Moon, File)
Stein also told potential jurors that some of the testimony at the trial could be given in Spanish and Arabic through an interpreter.
Mr. Stein has also worked with a variety of political leaders, from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) to Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rep. Dan Goldman (New York). He also provided a list of homes. Stein advised potential jurors to speak up if they know these numbers or are familiar with them. Although Mr. Stein did not specify that they would appear as witnesses, he said their names could come up at trial. No one has been accused of wrongdoing.
During Mr. Menendez’s 2017 trial, his Garden State colleague, Sen. Cory Booker (D.N.J.), sat in court on the first day seeking moral support. Mr. Booker, along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.), testified as character witnesses on Mr. Menendez’s behalf.
However, it appears that Menendez will face the trial alone.
“I’m not going to take it day by day. I’m going to wait for the verdict,” Booker said.
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Menendez disappointed Senate Democrats who had expected him to resign. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York often gives variations on the same answer when asked whether Menendez should resign or whether the Senate should expel the senator.
“The Senate has standards of appropriate conduct, and Sen. Menendez’s actions fall far short of those standards,” Schumer responded.
Mr. Menendez will not run for re-election as a Democrat. But he could do it as an independent. Indeed, the senator has pried open the door to that possibility. The submission deadline is June 4th. The trial could last until mid-July.
