NEW YORK (AP) — Some evidence that a federal judge had excluded from the bribery trial of former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was accidentally put on a computer given to jurors, federal prosecutors revealed Wednesday, though they insisted it was would have no effect on the Democrat’s beliefs.
Prosecutors told Judge Sidney H. Stein in a letter that they had recently discovered the error that caused a laptop to contain versions of several court documents that did not contain the full redactions Stein ordered.
Menendez, 70, resigned from the Senate in August following his conviction in July on 16 charges, including bribery, racketeering, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. He was forced to leave his post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after he was indicted in the case in the fall of 2023.
He is awaiting sentencing scheduled for Jan. 29 after a trial that included allegations that he accepted bribes in gold and cash from three New Jersey businessmen and acted as an agent for the Egyptian government. Two businessmen were convicted along with him, while a third testified against him in a cooperation agreement.
His lawyers did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
In their letter, prosecutors said inaccurate versions of nine government documents were missing some redactions ordered by Stein to ensure the productions did not violate the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which protects speech regarding information conveyed by legislators is shared.
Prosecutors told Stein on Wednesday that no action was necessary in light of the error for several reasons, including that defense attorneys did not object after inspecting documents on that laptop before it was given to jurors.
They also said there was a “reasonable probability” that no jurors had seen the misredacted versions of the evidence and that the documents could not prejudice the suspects even if seen by jurors, in part because they were of “secondary importance and were cumulative”. with an abundance of properly admitted evidence.”
Menendez has indicated he plans to appeal his conviction. He has also filed papers with Stein seeking an acquittal or a new trial. Some of the grounds for acquittal he cited were that prosecutors had violated his right as an MP to speak and debate.
“The government overran the senator’s constitutionally protected right to speak or debate in an attempt to show that he took any official action, when in reality the evidence showed that he never used the authority of his office to to do something in exchange for a bribe. his lawyers wrote.
“Despite a 10-week process, the government has offered no actual evidence of an agreement, merely speculation masked as inference,” they said.
Menendez was appointed U.S. senator in 2006 when the seat became vacant after incumbent Jon Corzine became governor. He was directly elected in 2006 and again in 2012 and 2018.
