(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Color me shocked—the Biden DOJ has admitted to several errors in its prosecution of disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez, potentially paving the way for his guilty verdict to be overturned.
Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York acknowledged they inadvertently allowed the jury access to evidence that a judge had previously ruled inadmissible.
U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein had barred the documents, citing immunity protections granted to members of Congress, Politico reported on Tuesday.
The so-called errors could raise eyebrows, with critics potentially questioning whether they were deliberate.
Many argue Menendez’s prosecution was calculated to give the DOJ the appearance of impartiality while pursuing criminal investigations against President-elect Donald Trump.
Charlie Kirk: The DOJ indicted Sen. Menendez “to create the appearance of impartiality so that they can continue their jihad against Donald Trump” https://t.co/UZCpowroW1 pic.twitter.com/mR7Ug0BuUX
— Media Matters (@mmfa) September 22, 2023
The blunder occurred when restricted evidence was uploaded to a laptop used by jurors during deliberations. Biden’s prosecutors claimed it was “vanishingly unlikely” the jury reviewed the files.
Menendez is now seeking a new trial, with his attorneys filing motions on Nov. 27.
“How can the DOJ still — after all of the constitutional misconduct they have admitted to committing with this jury — seriously defend this verdict?” Menendez said in a statement, according to Politico.
His defense team argued that, at a minimum, the judge should order discovery and an evidentiary hearing to determine “the scope of the government’s propriety and the prejudice caused to Senator Menendez.”
This request followed a Nov. 13 letter from prosecutors informing Stein of the mistake.
“The Government respectfully writes in the above-captioned matter to notify the Court that, due to an error recently discovered by the Government, incorrect versions of nine Government Exhibits were loaded on the laptop the parties jointly provided to the jury for use in its deliberations,” prosecutors claimed.
Legal experts say the “error” is a significant boon for Menendez, with former federal prosecutor Jonathan Kravis stating, “The prosecution gift-wrapped them one here.”
Stan Brand, a former congressional counsel, noted that lawmakers enjoy broad immunity from prosecution for their official duties. “If you breach it, the only remedy is to dismiss the indictment or give this guy a new trial,” Brand said.
Menendez was convicted on all 16 criminal counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors claimed that the senator took bribes from foreign governments to advance policies favorable to those countries.
“This wasn’t politics as usual; this was politics for profit,” U.S. District Attorney Damian Williams said in a press statement.
He added, “Because Senator Menendez has now been found guilty, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end. Corruption isn’t costless: it erodes public trust, and it undermines the rule of law. That’s why we’re so committed to fighting it, regardless of political party.”
After his conviction, Menendez, once the influential chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned from the Senate on Aug. 20, 2024.
