Menendez Loses Bid for Dismissal of Corruption Indictment
Source: Bloomberg
By David Voreacos
September 28, 2015 — 3:23 PM EDT
Updated on September 28, 2015 — 7:13 PM EDT
U.S. Senator Robert Menendez failed in his legal bid to have his bribery case tossed out even as a federal judge threw out four of the 22 counts in the indictment against the New Jersey Democrat and a campaign donor.
U.S. District Judge William Walls in Newark, New Jersey, ruled Monday on 10 of 15 dismissal motions filed by Menendez and the donor, Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye doctor. It wasn’t immediately clear when the judge will rule on the rest of the defense requests to throw out the case.
Walls rejected the senator’s bid to dismiss the case based on the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause, which usually protects lawmakers from prosecution for legislative acts. Menendez lawyer Abbe Lowell vowed to appeal Monday’s rulings.
Menendez is accused of taking almost $1 million in campaign donations, luxury travel and other gifts from Melgen.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-28/menendez-loses-bid-for-dismissal-of-corruption-indictment