Prosecutors' errors would give former senator Bob Menéndez the opportunity to request another trial

Some mistakes made by federal prosecutors in the case of former Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, who was found guilty of 16 charges linked to corruption, would give him the possibility of demanding a new trial.

Among the crimes of which the politician with Cuban roots was found guilty were: extortion, electronic fraud, obstruction of justice, acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, accepting bribes and conspiring.

However, in a letter, federal prosecutors admitted to making mistakes in the case of Menendez. In fact, they told the Southern District of New York that they had unintentionally given the jury access to evidence that a judge ruled they should not see.

In this regard, Menéndez’s legal team once again asked the federal court to annul his conviction and grant him a new trial under the argument that the result is now “inevitable.”

“They exposed the jury to a theory of criminality that the government was prohibited from presenting under the Speech or Debate Clause, namely, that Senator Menendez made specific decisions regarding military sales to Egypt in exchange for bribes,” points out part of a document prepared by the defenders of the former senator from New Jersey.

The 70-year-old Democrat is credited with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars, a luxurious convertible vehicle and 13 gold bars, among other things.

However, before the start of the process against him, Menéndez alleged that all of the aforementioned items ended up in the hands of his wife Nadine Arslanian without his knowledge.

So far, District Judge Sidney Stein has not requested a new trial and is expected to hand down a sentence on January 29.

Robert Menéndez intends, for the second time, to clear himself of corruption charges just as he did seven years ago, when in another trial against him, the juries could not reach a unanimous verdict and allowed him to dismiss his case.

However, if convicted, he faces a maximum of 222 years in prison for the 16 charges filed against him, which would literally condemn him to spending the rest of his life deprived of his freedom.

Keep reading:

• Bob Menéndez was found guilty of 16 crimes, including bribery and serving as a foreign agent

• The main witness José Uribe testified about the bribes he made to Senator Bob Menéndez

• New photographs reveal how Bob Menéndez hid thousands of dollars between boots and sheets