Jury That Convicted Ex-Sen. Robert Menendez Accidentally Saw Improper Evidence, Prosecutors Say
The exhibits seen by the jury did not contain the full redactions ordered by the presiding judge, according to federal prosecutors..
November 14, 2024 at 06:44 PM
2 minute read
White Collar CrimeThe jury that returned a guilty verdict against former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez was inadvertently shown evidence during deliberations that a judge had excluded from trial, prosecutors revealed in a new court filing.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York said in a letter filed Wednesday that they had recently discovered that the incorrect versions of trial exhibits had been loaded onto a laptop provided to jurors during deliberations.
These exhibits, prosecutors said, contained less conservative redactions than what had been ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York.
Menendez, 70, who represented New Jersey as a Democrat, resigned from his role following his conviction in July on charges including bribery, extortion, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege he accepted gold bars and other bribes from three businessmen in New Jersey and acted as an agent for the Egyptian government.
He has denied the accusations and said he intends to appeal. His defense team has also filed a motion for retrial.
Defense counsel did not immediately return a request for comment about the new revelation from prosecutors.
The U.S. Attorney's Office contends the discovery should in no way disturb the verdict for numerous reasons, including that defense counsel waived any rights to objection when they inspected the evidence before it was provided to the jury.
“There is no reasonable likelihood any juror ever saw any of the erroneously less-redacted versions; and, in any event, those versions, which do not reference any legislative act and which were of secondary relevance and cumulative with abundant properly admitted evidence, could not have prejudiced the defendants even if they were ever seen,” prosecutors told the judge.
Menendez’s sentencing is currently scheduled for January 29.
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