Closing Arguments in the Federal Corruption Trial of Senator Bob Menendez

The closing arguments in the federal corruption trial of U.S. Senator Bob Menendez took four days, and U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein had just begun to charge the jury when they broke for the day. The government’s rebuttal featured an impassioned plea that jurors reject Menendez’s “blame the wife” legal strategy. When the senator’s defense attorney asked for another chance to address the jury, Stein said no.

Another delay – this time an unexpectedly long rebuttal from federal prosecutors – means that jurors likely won’t begin deliberations until sometime on Friday. Unless jurors quickly – and unanimously – agree to all eighteen criminal counts, a verdict won’t likely come until next week.

Missed Votes & Mistrial

During these proceedings, Menendez missed two votes on Thursday. Interestingly, in Bob Menendez’s 2017 corruption trial, the jury deliberated for four days before declaring themselves a hung jury. Ten of the twelve jurors (83%) thought Menendez was innocent. The judge declared a mistrial, the Justice Department dropped the charges, and Menendez was re-elected by eleven points against an opponent who put nearly $40 million of his own money into the race. And in case you’re keeping track: it’s been 43 years and 69 days since a United States Senator from New Jersey was last convicted of accepting a bribe. Menendez the Optimist: “Looking forward to the jury getting the case tomorrow.”

Prosecutor’s Impassioned Rebuttal

During the trial, there were bitter clashes between prosecutors and defense attorneys, both in written filings and in court outside jurors’ earshot, which dragged out proceedings and prompted regular rebukes from the beleaguered judge. Richenthal bashed defense attorneys during his rebuttal for “misstating evidence” when they offered innocent explanations during closing arguments for their clients’ actions. He singled out the senator’s ‘blame-my-wife defense,’ in which he claimed he didn’t know his wife was taking money and making deals, as especially unbelievable. Richenthal repeatedly asked whether Nadine Menendez was a “diabolical genius” who concocted a plan to dupe the senator for five years.

What the Jury is Considering

The sprawling case in Manhattan federal court boils down to a key question for jurors: Was the New Jersey Democrat corrupting his office by taking bribes from three businessmen starting in 2018, as prosecutors allege? Or was it the senator’s girlfriend turned wife, Nadine Arslanian, who shook down those businessmen for cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible, keeping Menendez in the dark all along, as his attorneys insist? The jury will also consider whether Menendez acted as an agent of a foreign government and whether he put the interests of Egypt above those of the United States.

The Good Will Hana Defense

Wael Hana’s attorney, Lawrence Lustberg, argued during closing arguments that the company’s contract to certify U.S. meat exports was ‘totally Egypt’s call’ and therefore could not have been part of a bribery scheme with a U.S. senator. Instead, he argued that the Egyptian government awarded the company status as a sole distributor because at the time, they were eager to oust Muslim Brotherhood loyalists from positions of power.

The Spies Like Us Connection

The trial has revealed how Egyptian intelligence officials were able to cultivate casual access to one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington. Prosecutors said Senator Robert Menendez had steered millions of dollars in aid to Egypt and toned down his rhetoric about the country’s human rights violations to lock in a lucrative side hustle for his soon-to-be wife, who had reinvented herself as an international consultant. The information and photos extracted from phones seized by the F.B.I., which have been introduced as evidence, reveal how Egyptian intelligence officials were able to cultivate casual access to one of the most powerful Democrats in Washington.

Originally Post From https://newjerseyglobe.com/judiciary/senator-on-trial-day-thirty-two/

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