July 12 (UPI) — Jurors have begun deliberating in Sen. Bob Menendez‘s federal corruption trial in New York.
The New Jersey Democrat and his co-defendants, businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, are on trial for their role in a multi-faceted corruption scheme where prosecutors alleged the senator accepted luxurious bribes in exchange for political favors over several years.
A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty to several charges and agreed to testify against the other defendants prior to the trial.
Menendez faces 18 federal charges of bribery, obstruction and acting as a foreign agent. Prosecutors alleged he used his power as a senator to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar in exchange for gifts, and to interfere in the bribery investigations.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, also is charged in the case, but will be tried separately in August after a judge granted a delay in her trial for her to undergo treatment for breast cancer.
They both have pleaded not guilty.
During nine weeks of testimony, jurors heard from 37 witnesses in the case, except for Sen. Menendez, who chose not to testify.
“From my perspective, the government has failed to prove every aspect of its case, and for me to testify and give them another chance for a second summation … it’s simply something that doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever,” Menendez said.
During closing arguments Monday, prosecutors accused the three-term Democrat of putting “his power up for sale” and exhibiting a “clear pattern of corruption.”
“Menendez was in charge. His wife, Nadine, was his go-between,” prosecutor Paul Monteleoni said.
Defense attorneys, however, said the government has “not come close” to proving Menendez even accepted bribes.
Prosecutors during testimony presented more than $486,000 in cash and $100,000 in gold bars found during the 2022 FBI raid on the Menendez’s home.
A Mendendez lawyer claimed the stored cash was a habit born from family trauma after the senator’s family fled the Communist regime in Cuba in 1951, but Menendez was born in New York, and Fidel Castro had not yet come to power at that time.
Throughout the trial, the senator’s lawyers also sought to lay the blame on his wife, arguing that she was in charge of the dealings and concealed them from her husband.
This is the second time Menendez has stood trial on corruption charges. The senator in 2015 faced federal corruption charges in an unrelated case, but the charges were dropped after the jury failed to reach a verdict.
Menendez, who is up for re-election in November, has faced repeated calls from Democrats to step down. He, instead, filed to run last month as an independent. If he is acquitted, he would run against Rep. Andy Kim, who won the spring primary for his senate seat.
Senate Democrats worry the possible scenario could split the Democratic vote and leave the field open for Republican nominee Curtis Bashaw to swipe Menendez’s seat, shrinking Democrats’ already narrow majority.
Menendez is one of three congressmen on trial for federal corruption, including Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, and the recently expelled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y.