Menendez Bribe Case Proceeds After Judge Rejects Dismissal
- Defense said U.S. evidence didn’t meet new bribery standard
- Justice Department wins ruling before defense makes its case
Robert Menendez arrives at federal court in Newark, New Jersey on Oct. 16 2017.
Photographer: Peter Foley/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The corruption trial of Senator Robert Menendez and a close friend moved to the defense phase after a judge declined to dismiss the indictment and said jurors should decide whether prosecutors met the toughened standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court for proving public bribery.
The ruling by U.S. District Judge William Walls on Monday came after heated arguments over whether the government had presented enough evidence for the case to go to a jury. Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor, then offered family members as their first two witnesses.