.Menendez's bribery trial delayed as he seeks Supreme Court intervention
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| Bob Menendez |
The bribery and corruption trial for New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez will be delayed while he seeks Supreme Court intervention in his case, a federal court has ordered.
The Justice Dept. had asked that Menendez's trial move ahead after the Third Circuit of Appeals rejected his bid to the have the allegations against him thrown out.
But the Third Circuit ruled on Monday that the trial will be delayed while Menendez petitions the Supreme Court to hear his appeal. That means that any trial — if it does take place — likely won't happen before 2017.
The Justice Dept. alleges Menendez received nearly $1 million worth of gifts and campaign contributions from Melgen. In turn, Menendez allegedly intervened on Melgen’s behalf in a multimillion-dollar billing dispute with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and attempted to enforce a $500 million port security contract with the Dominican Republic, as well as obtaining visa applications for several of Melgen’s girlfriends.
Menendez has argued that under the Speech or Debate clause — a constitutional privilege that shields lawmakers and staff from legal action over legitimate legislative activities — he could not be charged with improperly aiding Melgen. He asked the Third Circuit to overrule a lower court, which had let the Justice Department's case against him move forward. The Third Circuit refused to dismiss the case, but did grant Menendez's request to delay the trial.
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