Embattled Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is seeking to delay his corruption trial. His legal team sent a letter Thursday to the New York court where his case is being heard, asking for a two-month delay in the start of the trial — from May until July of next year, notably after the 2024 Democratic primary election.
Pre-trial motions are scheduled for early next month and Menendez is also asking for these to be delayed by one week.
The senator and his wife Nadine are accused of taking cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for political influence. In the letter, Menendez and his legal team cite 15 million pages of documents produced by the prosecution as a major reason for requesting the delays. Those pages include text messages, emails, search warrants and more.
“He’s got a defense team and all of the defendants — they want to look at all that discovery … The government has to turn that evidence over and the government doesn’t have to identify what they consider is inculpatory or what’s going to be used at trial,” said former Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Gramiccioni in an interview with NJ Spotlight News.
The Menendez legal team said they also need time to conduct their own investigation, which may include traveling to Egypt to interview potential witnesses. The trial is currently set for May 6.
