Current:Home > InvestProsecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial -Intelligent Capital Compass
Prosecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial
View
Date:2025-04-19 11:25:09
NEW YORK (AP) — Some evidence that a federal judge had excluded from the bribery trial of former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was inadvertently put on a computer given to jurors, federal prosecutors revealed Wednesday, though they insisted it should have no effect on the Democrat’s conviction.
The prosecutors told Judge Sidney H. Stein in a letter that they recently discovered the error which caused a laptop computer to contain versions of several trial exhibits that did not contain the full redactions Stein had ordered.
Menendez, 70, resigned from the Senate in August after his July conviction on 16 charges, including bribery, extortion, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. He was forced to give up his post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after he was charged in the case in fall 2023.
He awaits a sentencing scheduled for Jan. 29 after a trial that featured allegations that he accepted bribes of gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acting as an agent for the Egyptian government. Two businessmen were convicted with him while a third testified against him in a cooperation deal.
His lawyers did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
In their letter, prosecutors said incorrect versions of nine government exhibits were missing some redactions ordered by Stein to ensure that the exhibits did not violate the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which protects speech relating to information shared by legislators.
Prosecutors told Stein Wednesday that no action was necessary in light of the error for several reasons, including that defense lawyers did not object after they inspected documents on that laptop before it was given to jurors.
They also said there was a “reasonable likelihood” that no jurors saw the erroneously redacted versions of the exhibits and that the documents could not have prejudiced the defendants even if they were seen by jurors, in part because they were of “secondary relevance and cumulative with abundant properly admitted evidence.”
Menendez has indicated he plans to appeal his conviction. He also has filed papers with Stein seeking an acquittal or new trial. Part of the grounds for acquittal he cited was that prosecutors violated his right as a lawmaker to speech and debate.
“The government walked all over the Senator’s constitutionally protected Speech or Debate privilege in an effort to show that he took some official action, when in reality, the evidence showed that he never used the authority of his office to do anything in exchange for a bribe,” his lawyers wrote.
“Despite a 10-week trial, the government offered no actual evidence of an agreement, just speculation masked as inference,” they said.
Menendez was appointed to be a U.S. senator in 2006 when the seat opened up after incumbent Jon Corzine became governor. He was elected outright in 2006 and again in 2012 and 2018.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- 3 books in translation that have received acclaim in their original languages
- He watched the Koons 'balloon dog' fall and shatter ... and wants to buy the remains
- 'Wait Wait' for Feb. 25, 2023: 25th Anniversary Spectacular!
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Two YouTubers from popular Schaffrillas Productions have died in a car crash
- LBJ biographer Robert Caro reflects on fame, power and the presidency
- Racism tears a Maine fishing community apart in 'This Other Eden'
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- 'The God of Endings' is a heartbreaking exploration of the human condition
Ranking
- A South Texas lawmaker’s 15
- Why 'Everything Everywhere All At Once' feels more like reality than movie magic
- Rolling the dice on race in Dungeons & Dragons
- Lowriding was born in California but it's restricted. Lawmakers want to change that
- Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
- Is the U.S. government designating too many documents as 'classified'?
- What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing
- Melting guns and bullet casings, this artist turns weapons into bells
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
'The Daily Show' guest hosts (so far): Why Leslie Jones soared and D.L. Hughley sank
As Ryuichi Sakamoto returns with '12,' fellow artists recall his impact
'The Forty-Year-Old Version' is about getting older and finding yourself
Sonya Massey's father decries possible release of former deputy charged with her death
'Dear Edward' tugs — and tugs, and tugs — at your heartstrings
Melting guns and bullet casings, this artist turns weapons into bells
Rihanna's maternity style isn't just fashionable. It's revolutionary, experts say