Judge declares mistrial in Menendez case
Jury deliberated for more than 15 hours
NEWARK — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial ended Thursday with a jury deadlocked on all 18 counts against the New Jersey Democrat and his co-defendant, raising questions about the strength of the government’s case but failing to lift the legal cloud that has hung over him for more than two years.
U.S. District Court Judge William Walls declared a mistrial after jurors were not able to reach a unanimous verdict during more than 15 hours of deliberations. Federal prosecutors have not indicated whether they will retry Menendez and co-defendant Salomon Melgen, both 63, on charges that include bribery, fraud and conspiracy. The men had denied the charges.
The most serious of the charges carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
A wave of relief swept over half of the Newark courtroom when the judge’s decision became apparent around 1 p.m. Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants who rose from humble origins in Hudson County, N.J., to become one of the nation’s most prominent Hispanic-American politicians, wrapped his two adult children in an emotional embrace while his other supporters and those of Melgen teared up as they exchanged congratulatory hugs.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, expressed little emotion as the 11week trial came to a sudden end. The trial ended about an hour after the jury sent a note telling the judge of the deadlock.
“We have each tried to look at this case from different viewpoints but still feel strongly in our positions, nor are we willing to move away from our strong convictions,” the note said as it was read by a defense attorney in court.
Jurors said they “reviewed all the evidence slowly, thoroughly and in great detail.”
Before dismissing the jury, Walls told them, “I find that you are unable to reach a verdict and that further deliberations would be futile and that there is no alternative but to declare a mistrial.”
Menendez stood accused of doing official favors for Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye doctor and longtime friend, at the highest levels of the federal government in exchange for luxury vacations, free flights on Melgen’s private jets and more than $700,000 in political contributions.
A mistrial is a mixed bag for Menendez, who has long held that he would be “vindicated” at trial and run for re-election next year. Although he avoided a felony conviction that could have spelled the end of his political career, he now faces the prospect of campaigning through much of 2018 dogged by many of the same charges the government first brought in April 2015.
The hung jury is slightly better news for Senate Democrats — at least in the short term — who no longer have to fear los- ing one of their members in the midst of a pitched battle in Congress over legislation backed by President Trump. Some Republicans had hoped for Menendez’s conviction and resignation by mid-January, which would have given outgoing New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, the chance to pick his replacement.
Taking a longer view, though, the unresolved allegations could be a liability for state and national Democrats next year if Republicans try to build a narrative around the senator’s legal troubles and potentially a second trial.
For the Justice Department, the mistrial adds bite to a bitter
2017 — a year in which the corruption convictions of former New York Senate leader Dean Skelos, a Republican, and former New York state Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, were overturned after a
2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowed the reach of federal bribery law.