Jury assortment proceeds for Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s federal corruption trial on Tuesday morning. As of Monday afternoon, zero jurors were seated for the demo, which is using location in a Manhattan courtroom and envisioned to carry on via the conclusion of June.
By Monday afternoon, the judge excused 38 of 152 jurors for many explanations pertaining to why they could not be existing for the situation. That leaves 114 jurors who will return this early morning for continued range.
Jurors will be anticipated to discern regardless of whether proof from Menendez and two New Jersey businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, displays they had been section of a bribery scheme, including meddling in felony investigations and having actions benefiting the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
All a few have pleaded not guilty. Co-defendant Jose Uribe has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. A trial for the senator’s spouse, who is also billed, is delayed till at least July for wellness motives.
This is the 2nd time in a 10 years that Menendez has been accused in a federal corruption scenario.
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York, Sept. 27, 2023. (AP Picture/Jeenah Moon, File)
Menendez was charged by federal prosecutors with obstruction of justice in a different superseding indictment unsealed in March relating to a multiyear alleged bribery scheme involving the Egypt and Qatar governments.
The 18-webpage indictment is wrapped into Menendez’s current rates already in opposition to him and his co-defendants – including his wife, Nadine – for allegedly performing as a international agent and accepting hundreds of hundreds of bucks in bribes to advantage the Egyptian federal government through his power and impact as a senator.
The indictment will come after Uribe accepted a plea deal and agreed to cooperate past week. The costs on Tuesday also alleged Menendez dedicated conspiracy, bribery, acting as a overseas agent, extortion and wire fraud.
DEMOCRAT SEN BOB MENENDEZ Struggling with INDICTMENT ON BRIBERY Charges
Sen. Bob Menendez has pleaded not responsible in the federal corruption scenario. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
Prosecutors also condition in the new indictment that Menendez instructed his legal professionals to notify the U.S. Attorney’s Business office for the Southern District of New York in 2022 about his awareness of businessman Wael Hana issuing a payment exceeding $23,000 for Nadine’s residence home loan and the revenue that Uribe contributed for her new luxury auto.
Menendez also allegedly suggested his attorneys to disclose to the prosecutor’s workplace that he later on uncovered the money were being actually financial loans, when “In fact and in point, and as Menendez effectively realized,” the property finance loan and auto payments were built prior to 2022 “and they were not financial loans, but bribe payments,” prosecutors wrote in Tuesday’s indictment.
Wael Hana, center, leaves the federal courthouse in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. Hana is a co-defendant with Robert Menendez.
Menendez is also accused of accepting bribes and presents in exchange for serving to to advantage Qatar as element of a corruption plan from 2021 by 2023.
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Menendez, alongside with his wife and the three New Jersey businessmen, ended up very first billed in the federal bribery plan on Sept. 23. Hana, Daibes, the senator and Nadine Menendez have pleaded not responsible.
Fox Information Digital’s Daniel Wallace and Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report.
