It’s New York City. On Tuesday, federal officials asked a judge to turn down Sen. Bob Menendez’s request to move his bribery trial from next spring to July, two months later than planned.
A week after defense lawyers gave many reasons why they think the trial of the New Jersey Democrat and his co-defendants, including his wife, should be put off, prosecutors argued against the delay.
After being arrested in September, the senator gave up his job as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is running for office again in 2024, though. Most of the time, the state’s primary is in June.
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The first trial date, May 6, was fine with the prosecutors, and no one complained when it was revealed, even though the circumstances were the same.
prosecutors wrote, “The schedule was and still is reasonable and in line with the strong public interest in a speedy trial.”
Because there are over 6.7 million papers to look over, an “unprecedented” foreign-agent charge, and difficult legal questions to be answered, the defense lawyers asked that the trial, which was set to start on May 6, be put off. They said that even if the case was put off for two months, the suspects would still have to go to court within 10 months of being arrested.
Four people, including Menendez, have pleaded not guilty to a bribery conspiracy charge. The charge says that three New Jersey businesspeople offered cash, gold bars, and a luxury car as bribes to the senator and his wife in exchange for their help and power in foreign affairs.
The senator, his wife, and a third person have all pleaded not guilty to a charge that they planned to use the senator as an agent of the Egyptian government, even though as a congressman, he was not allowed to do so.
When defense lawyers asked for a delay, they wrote, “Given the complexity of this case and the seriousness of the charges at issue, the speed with which this case is proceeding is extraordinary.“
They said they would ask Judge Sidney H. Stein in Manhattan to throw out the charge for several reasons, such as because it is unconstitutional or not strong enough, and because the New York federal court is the wrong place for the case.
In their letter to the judge, the prosecutors said that the large amount of evidence they gave to the defense should not slow down the trial because it was in line with what the government said at the first meeting in October.
“To put it simply, if the defendants are right and you could have several months to read discovery before filing motions, things would be very different in this district.” “The Court’s current schedule is rushed, but it makes sense,” prosecutors said.