New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez and his co-defendants want to delay their May bribery trial by two months, but federal prosecutors oppose it. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said the court timetable is sensible and fast. Despite Menendez’s defense team stressing the case’s complexity and the 6.7 million papers to analyze, prosecutors said they had made earnest efforts to streamline the review.
Legal Battle Intensifies as Menendez’s Defense Seeks Delay in Bribery Trial, Prosecutors Push Back
Due to the case’s intricacy, Menendez’s defense team requested extra time to review the vast documentation. Prosecutors claimed that the defense had adequate time and resources since they had ordered the information carefully and helped speed up the review. The prosecutors stressed that the defendant’s request for a postponement made more than two months after the schedule, did not justify a major delay.
The defense cited various investigative processes, a challenge to the indictment’s sufficiency, a constitutional challenge to federal criminal legislation, and suppression motions for the delay. The prosecution contended that these grounds were not unique to the case and did not necessitate a multi-month postponement.
On September 23, Bob Menendez, his wife Nadine, and three New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes were charged with federal bribery. A New Jersey entrepreneur accused of banking offenses, Daibes, gave Menendez and his wife gold bars and other gifts, according to the allegations. Menendez allegedly influenced Daibes’ prosecutor to be sympathetic.
READ ALSO: President Biden, first lady call military units to extend Christmas greetings, gratitude
Senator Menendez Faces Serious Charges: Bribery, Foreign Agent Allegations, and Classified Information Sharing
The indictment alleges that from 2018 to 2022, the Menendez couple accepted payments from Daibes, Hana, and Uribe to use Menendez’s Senate influence to benefit the businessmen and Egypt. The alleged bribes included cash, gold bars, mortgage payments, a luxury automobile, and money for a no-show job.
Menendez now faces charges of working as a foreign agent and taking bribes to influence the Egyptian government as a senator. The prosecution alleges that Menendez transmitted classified U.S. government material with Hana, who secretly supported the Egyptian regime. Menendez is accused of pressuring a Department of Agriculture official to safeguard Hana’s Egyptian business monopoly.
Menendez faces substantial legal implications for these charges, and the trial is slated for May awaiting the judge’s postponement decision.
READ ALSO: Prosecutors urge judge to reject Menendez’s plea for a delay in bribery trial