Sen. Bob “Gold Bars” Menendez (D-N.J.) is running for reelection in 2024, but there’s one annoying little complication for his campaign: a bribery trial. Those pesky bribery charges can mess up your plans, but Menendez and his legal team think they have an ace up their sleeves.
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The trial is set for May, but Menendez has asked the court to delay it until July. According to Politico, defense attorneys claim that the delay is necessary due to “over 6.7 million documents to be reviewed, an ‘unprecedented’ foreign-agent charge and complex legal questions to be addressed” ahead of the trial.
Authorities have accused Menendez, his wife, and two other defendants of accepting bribes that include cash, gold bars, and a luxury vehicle. A group of businessmen allegedly bribed the senator in an attempt to take advantage of his foreign policy influence. At the time the alleged bribes took place, Menendez was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but he resigned from that position after the charges became public.
“The senator, his wife, and a third defendant have also pleaded not guilty to a charge that they conspired to utilize the senator as an agent of the Egyptian government even though he was prohibited from doing so as a member of Congress,” Politico points out.
“Given the complexity of this case and the seriousness of the charges at issue, the speed with which this case is proceeding is extraordinary,” the senator’s defense team wrote in its request to delay the trial. Additionally, the defense team may seek to have the indictments dismissed on Constitutional grounds as well as the assertion that federal court isn’t the proper venue for these charges.
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Related: Bob Menendez’s Political Career May Be Over, But Why Did It Take So Long?
The prosecution isn’t buying the need for a delay, and it has filed to keep the trial on schedule. Prosecutors contend that a May date for the trial is reasonable and fair.
“In short, if there were a right to have multiple months to digest discovery prior to filing motions, as the defendants appear to suggest, practice in this district would look quite different. The current schedule set by the Court is expedited, but reasonable,” prosecutors argued.
The prosecution has the same volume of documents to pore through and is also considering the gravity of the charges against Menendez, and if these attorneys can prepare for a trial in the spring, the defense should be able to as well.
However, there’s another factor that could play into the defense team’s request to postpone the trial. Since the Garden State’s primary is taking place on June 4, it’s hard not to speculate that Menendez wants to delay his trial so that he can (presumably) skate through the primary and be set for the general election. Menendez is seeking a fourth term as senator, and he faces at least three Democrat opponents.
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It’s not the first time that Menendez has faced corruption allegations. Trouble has dogged him for decades, so it’s long overdue for him to face the music. Here’s hoping that the judge will listen to reason, keep this trial on track, and let Menendez and his co-defendants face justice.