Sen. Bob Menendez seeks dismissal of criminal charges. His lawyers say prosecutors ‘distort reality’
Associated PressNEW YORK — Sen. Bob Menendez on Wednesday sought dismissal of charges, including bribery, as his lawyers told a judge that New York federal prosecutors are making claims that are “outrageously false” and “distort reality.” The New Jersey Democrat and his wife pleaded not guilty after they were charged last fall with accepting bribes of gold bars, cash and a luxury car in return for help from the senator that would benefit three New Jersey businessmen, who were also arrested and pleaded not guilty. Menendez’s lawyers said in court papers that their client’s conduct was “constitutionally immune” and none of it could serve as the basis for criminal charges. “The government’s accusations in this case — that he sold his office and even sold out his nation — are outrageously false, and indeed distort reality,” the lawyers wrote. Menendez’s lawyers said the novel charge that Menendez conspired with his wife and a businessman to act as an agent of the Egyptian government “fundamentally disrupts the separation of powers.” Menendez, 70, was forced to step down from his powerful post leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after he was charged in September.