Secret details in Menendez court files are made public
When Sen. Robert Menendez was indicted in September, prosecutors accused him of twice calling a top federal law enforcement official in New Jersey in an attempt to shut down a criminal investigation involving an ally.
But the official had previously told authorities that he did not recall ever discussing “specific cases” with the senator, according to a court document first made public Friday.
The official's reminder was contained in a legal brief filed last month by Mr. Menendez's lawyers, asking for the charges against the senator to be dismissed. Until now, that detail and other parts of the brief have been redacted — hidden from public view — because they contained material from the confidential government investigation.
On Thursday, a Manhattan judge, at the request of The New York Times and two other news outlets, ordered some of these redactions removed, making it possible to get a fuller picture of the evidence Mr. Menendez's lawyers cite to support their to strengthen the argument that the charges against the senator should be dismissed.
Lawyers for Mr. Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, have argued that prosecutors concocted “a story based on speculation, cherry-picking and innuendo” to accuse the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, of taking bribes in exchange for political favors . Mr. Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial, which is expected to begin in May.
The unsealed elements of the letter also shed new light on evidence that Mr. Menendez's lawyers say undermines the indictment's claim that the senator, as part of the conspiracy, used his power and influence to benefit Egypt's government to come.
In their letter, Mr. Menendez's lawyers argue, for example, that a “central element of the indictment” was a State Department-approved trip the senator took to Egypt in the fall of 2021, where he met with Egyptian officials. But the indictment, the lawyers write, “shockingly reveals” a fact showing that Mr. Menendez was at times willing to take positions against Egypt.
According to the newly released materials, investigators interviewed an unidentified person with apparent knowledge of what happened at the meeting, who told them that Mr. Menendez “got a little involved” with the Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, regarding human rights . issues.
Egypt's president said Egypt would do better on human rights, the person told investigators, a document shows.
“The government never mentions these events in the indictment because they inflate the false narrative foisted on this court, the media, and the American public,” Mr. Menendez's lawyers wrote.
They allege that overzealous prosecutors are trying to criminalize normal legislative activities and flout constitutional protections afforded to members of Congress.
Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, declined to comment Friday. Prosecutors are expected to file their response to the defense brief on Monday.
The government did not oppose the removal of certain redactions, but asked the judge, Sidney H. Stein of the Federal District Court, to maintain the confidentiality of other material, “particularly given that the government's investigation is ongoing ,” the prosecutors wrote. .
The judge did seal a large part of the material, including, for example, the names of people who provided information to investigators.