Judge declares mistrial in N.J. senator’s bribery trial
NEWARK, N.J. — The federal bribery trial of Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez ended Thursday with the jury deadlocked on all charges, a partial victory for him that could leave the case hanging over his head as he gears up for re-election to a divided Senate.
Federal District Judge William Walls declared a mistrial after more than six full days of jury deliberations failed to produce a verdict on any of the 18 counts against the New Jersey politician or his codefendant, a Florida eye doctor accused of buying Menendez’s influence by plying him with luxury vacations and campaign contributions.
Prosecutors would not say whether they plan to retry Menendez. But on the political front, forces were already mobilizing against him, with GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell calling for an ethics investigation of him.
Republicans hold a 5248 edge in the Senate.
Outside the courthouse, Menendez fought back tears as he alternately blasted federal authorities for bringing the case and thanked the jurors in the 21⁄2-month trial “who saw through the government’s false claims and used their Jersey common sense to reject it.”
“Certain elements of the FBI and of our state cannot stand, or even worse, accept that the Latino kid from Union City and Hudson County could grow up to be a United States senator and be honest,” said the 63-year-old son of Cuban immigrants.
Jury member Edward Norris said 10 jurors wanted to acquit Menendez on all charges, while two held out for conviction.
Norris said that after the prosecution rested, “in my gut I was like, ‘That’s it? That’s all they had?’ ”
Menendez was accused of selling his political influence to Dr. Salomon Melgen for vacations in the Caribbean and Paris, flights on Melgen’s jet and hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions to campaign organizations that supported the senator directly or indirectly.
In return, prosecutors said, Menendez pressured government officials on Melgen’s behalf over an $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute and a stalled contract to provide port screening equipment in the Dominican Republic, and also helped obtain visas for Melgen’s girlfriends.
According to prosecutors, Melgen essentially put Menendez on the payroll and made the politician his “personal senator.”
The defense argued that the gifts were not bribes but tokens of friendship between men who have known each other for more than 20 years and were “like brothers.”
“I just wish there was stronger evidence right out of the gate,” Norris said. “It was a victimless crime, I think, and it was an email trial. I just didn’t see a smoking gun.”
The charges against the men included bribery, conspiracy and honest services fraud, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Menendez was also charged with making false statements in failing to report gifts from Melgen on his financial disclosure form.