International Courant
Gold bars and lots of of hundreds of {dollars} in money discovered by the FBI in Sen. Bob Menendez’s dwelling weren’t given to him as a bribe, a protection legal professional insisted Tuesday throughout oral arguments within the New Jersey senator’s federal corruption trial.
Waving his arms and pacing backwards and forwards earlier than the jury, protection legal professional Adam Charge used a sarcastic tone to deride the federal government’s case as “chosen nonsense.”
Charge accused prosecutors of “twisting” the information and stated the story they instructed about Menendez was false and never ample to safe a conviction.
“The one honest judgment I might enter right here is to acquit him of each cost,” Charge instructed the jury throughout closing arguments Tuesday on the Manhattan federal courthouse. “His actions had been lawful, regular and good for the nation.”
Prosecutors painted a really totally different image of Menendez, accusing him of corruption on a “huge scale” and promoting his workplace to businessmen prepared to pay.
“The buck stops right here. 1000’s and hundreds of greenbacks cease right here. It is time to maintain him accountable,” prosecutor Paul Monteleoni stated as he wrapped up his closing arguments Tuesday.
Senator Bob Menendez arrives on the courthouse in Manhattan, New York, July 9, 2024.
Angela Weiss/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
Charge stated he would not blame jurors for considering “one thing fishy” was occurring after seeing a number of pictures of the almost $500,000 seized from Menendez’s dwelling stashed in boots, coats and baggage. Nonetheless, he urged the jury to not be hasty.
“The story that the prosecutors are telling is that it is so unusual … it is so inherently uncommon and suspicious that Bob needed to have recognized it was a bribe,” Charge stated. “That is false.”
The protection maintained that Menendez was hoarding cash due to his father’s expertise in Cuba and that it was “regular” for his spouse to personal gold.
The protection additionally tried to use a weak point within the authorities’s case: the shortage of direct proof linking Menendez to bribes.
“What textual content, what electronic mail, what doc suggests to you that that story is credible?” Charge requested the jury. “They haven’t offered you with any compelling proof for the idea that they’ve offered to you.”
Prosecutors alleged that the cash, gold and luxurious convertible had been all bribes from Menendez’s co-defendants, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana. They accused the senator of abusing his energy to learn New Jersey businessmen and international governments.
All three suspects have denied the costs.
Closing arguments for Daibes and Hana are anticipated to be held on Wednesday.
