Menendez asks judge to toss conviction and order new trial after jury was shown improper evidence

Attorneys for former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez on Wednesday asked the judge who oversaw his bribery trial to toss the conviction and order a new trial, after the jury had access to improper evidence during deliberations. 

Federal prosecutors noted and reported the issue earlier this month, but claimed that the verdict should not have been affected by the mistake. The jury mistakenly had access to nine pieces of evidence that should have been redacted during their deliberations, prosecutors claimed. The incorrect versions were stored on the laptop the jurors used to view evidence.

Menendez’s attorney Adam Fee said the error made a new trial "unavoidable," and that it was a serious security breach.

“Without doubting that the error was unintentional, the responsibility for it lies exclusively with the government, and the government must accept its consequences,” Fee wrote, per The Hill.

Fee also argued that the evidence, which should have been redacted, was the “only evidence in the record” that tied Menendez to the “actual, consummated provision” of military aid to Egypt. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni previously observed that neither the defense nor prosecutors caught the mistake, and that it was unlikely jurors ever noticed the incorrect exhibit versions since they were just a handful of thousands of documents and exhibits on the computer.

Menendez resigned from the Senate in August after he was convicted on all 16 counts in his federal corruption case, including obstruction of justice, bribery, extortion, wire fraud and acting as a foreign agent. He pleaded not guilty to the crimes, and has vowed to appeal the verdict.

The former senator is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 29, 2025.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.