MENENDEZ ASKED FOR TRIAL TO BE IN NEW JERSEY

Robert Menendez has asked a federal judge to move his bribery trial to occur in New Jersey instead of New York. The trial, for which all defendants have pleaded not guilty, is set to begin in May in a federal court in Manhattan. The senator is accused of conspiring with his wife and three businessmen to use his position as a United States senator to benefit them and the governments of Qatar and Egypt.

According to CNN, this is the second set of corruption charges levied against him by the Justice Department in a decade. Back then, He was also charged by federal prosecutors from the US attorney’s office in New Jersey in 2015 with conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud relating to allegedly abusing the power of his office.

This time, Officials allege that Menendez received bribes of cash, gold bars, and a luxury car. Menendez allegedly met with co-conspirators at a Manhattan restaurant to arrange a meeting with an Egyptian official. He argues that this is not a good enough reason to try the case in New York City.

Nadine Arslanian, Menendez’s wife, wants her case separated from her husband’s so that they don’t have to decide whether to testify against each other.