Sen. Bob Menendez 's Lawyer Tells Jury Prosecutors Failed to Prove a Single Charge in Bribery Trial

Closing Arguments Challenge Prosecution's Case

NEW YORK (AP) — A lawyer for Sen. Bob Menendez urged jurors on Tuesday to acquit him of every charge at the New Jersey Democrat's corruption trial, saying federal prosecutors had failed to prove a single count beyond a reasonable doubt.

The attorney, Adam Fee, told the Manhattan federal court jury that there were too many gaps in the evidence that prosecutors wanted jurors to fill in on their own to conclude crimes were committed or that Menendez accepted any bribes.

Defending Questionable Valuables

"The absence of evidence should be held against the prosecution," Fee said. "There's zero evidence of him saying or suggesting that he was doing something for a bribe."

Fee also defended over $100,000 in gold bars and more than $480,000 in cash found in an Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home during a 2022 FBI raid, acknowledging the valuables were "provocative" and "atypical."

"Prosecutors have not come close to meeting their burden to show you that any of the gold or cash was given to Senator Menendez as a bribe," Fee argued.

Challenging the Prosecution's Arguments

"This is a case with a lot of inferences," Fee said, suggesting there were large gaps in the evidence that were unsupported by emails, texts or other documentation.

Earlier in the day, Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni had argued that Menendez had engaged in "wildly abnormal" behavior in response to bribes, including attempts to interfere in criminal cases handled by top state and federal prosecutors in New Jersey.

Ongoing Corruption Trial

Menendez , 70, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he accepted bribes, including gold and envelopes of cash, from 2018 to 2022 from three New Jersey businessmen who wanted his help in their business ventures.

The senator is on trial with two of the businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, who have also pleaded not guilty. A third businessman pleaded guilty and testified at the trial.

Menendez has resisted calls to resign, though he did relinquish his powerful post as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee after the charges were unveiled last fall. He recently filed to run for reelection this year as an independent.

The trial is expected to continue with further defense arguments and a rebuttal from the prosecution before the case is handed to the jury.