Federal prosecutors presented a case in court last month that seemed to be a slam dunk: New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez accepted bribes while he was top Democrat of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help the governments Egypt and Qatar. The gold bars that Menendez is alleged to have received as corrupt payment are in the possession of prosecutors.
[[{“value”:”Federal prosecutors entered a slam-dunk case next month in which it appeared as though New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez had accepted bribes to support the governments of Egypt and Qatar while he was the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Prosecutors are also found the gold bars Menendez allegedly received as a dishonest payment, a cooperating witness, and text messages that, according to them, showed the senator promising to take votes and other standard actions in exchange for bribes.
But the prosecution is being complicated by the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause—or at least by the trial judge’s broad reading of it. Legislators are prohibited from being held legally accountable for what they say or do in Congress under this provision. The goal is to prevent elected representatives from facing legal action or prosecution for performing their legal duties.
You might assume that this provision would have a place for people corruption cases even though it might be merely shielding lawmakers from legal proceedings like libel suits or criminal charges over contentious floor speeches. It, in fact, does not. Read actually, it appears very broad. ” For any speech or debate in either House, ]members of Congress] shall not be questioned in any other place”, it says.
By avoiding evidence relating to officials actions Menendez took, the feds claimed they could circumvent this provision. Instead, they intended to concentrate on text messages that allegedly contained his reported conspiracies.
But next week, after the trial was well afoot, US District Judge Sidney Stein said he would bar prosecutors from introducing text messages that, they allege, showed the people who bribed Menendez discussing “getting their money’s for” from the senator.
The government vehemently opposed the decision, arguing that it would make it all but defensive from prosecution for politicians who accepted bribes in exchange for congressional acts.
According to Assistant US Attorney Paul Monteleoni, the provision is” never intended to render members of Congress extremely citizens immune from all legal responsibility.”
In a motion, prosecutors argued in a motion that “it is hard to see how any gratuity charge could actually be proven if Menendez were right that such evidence is barred.” But Stein, a Bill Clinton appointee, rejected the government’s request that he reconsider.
Nevertheless, Menendez’s lawyers are working to use the Speech or Debate Clause knock out additional evidence prosecutors hope to present. The defense asked Stein on Friday to stop the government from citing a 2019 email Menenedez sent to an alleged conspirator in which Menendez included the text of a bill he sponsored that was good to have benefited Egypt. The defense said that while his sponsoring the measure was unmentioned in the email, the “implication” of his support meant that introducing it in court would be illegal.
That motion is pending. But so far, the fallout from Menendez’s trial looks (yet again ) like great news for lawmakers accused of corruption. Donald Trump, it seems, is n’t the only politician who could soon be essentially immune from prosecution.”}]] Last month, federal prosecutors indicted New Jersey senator Robert Menendez for accepting bribes to aid the governments of Egypt and Qatar while he was the leading Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The case appeared to be a slam-dunk. The gold bars Menendez allegedly received as a dishonest payment are located in the hands of the prosecution.
Federal prosecutors presented a case in court last month that seemed to be a slam dunk: New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez accepted bribes while he was top Democrat of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help the governments Egypt and Qatar. The gold bars that Menendez is alleged to have received as corrupt payment are in the possession of prosecutors.
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