Prosecutors Counter Menendez’s Dismissal Plea with Evidence of Recorded Conversations

Federal investigators utilized a confidential informant who clandestinely recorded conversations involving Senator Bob Menendez, as revealed in a legal brief filed by prosecutors handling the bribery case against the New Jersey Democrat.

The 196-page legal document, submitted on Monday in response to the senator’s previous plea to dismiss charges, underscored “information from a particular confidential source,” which included recordings of discussions between Menendez and three New Jersey businessmen with connections to Egypt. Additionally, the brief mentioned “draft translations of the recordings.”

Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, face accusations of bestowing political favors while allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. In a recent Senate floor address, Menendez vehemently denied any wrongdoing, asserting, “I have never violated the public trust. I have been a patriot for and of my country.”

In their defense strategy, Menendez’s legal team depicted the senator as a victim, alleging that one of the businessmen, Wael Hana, “was running his own scam.” While prosecutors acknowledged that Hana “swindled” the Menendezes “by not giving them the full value of the bribes they should have received,” they maintained that Menendez was complicit in a bribery scheme, as outlined in the legal brief obtained by the New York Times.

Contrary to assertions that Menendez and Hana were not part of a conspiracy, prosecutors argued that evidence suggesting Hana took a larger share of the bribes and shortchanged the Menendezes actually affirmed the existence of the bribery scheme.

Menendez’s legal team accused prosecutors of distorting standard legislative practices as criminal acts and disregarding constitutional safeguards afforded to congressional members. “We look forward to the court’s review of the merits of our motions that expose how the government has overcharged and overhyped this case,” one of Menendez’s lawyers stated.

In their submission on Monday, prosecutors urged the federal district court to deny the senator’s motion to dismiss charges, emphasizing that “legislators ought not to stand above the law they create but ought generally to be bound by it as are ordinary persons.”

Despite calls for resignation from over half of his Democratic colleagues in the Senate last September, Menendez maintains his innocence and has affirmed his decision not to step down.