Newark, n.j.
Menendez’s attorney responded that gifts from Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, Menendez’s longtime friend, didn’t equate to a bribery agreement. Menendez’s meetings with government officials — though they could have aided Melgen’s business interests — were “what members of Congress do” and were meant to influence future policy, attorney Abbe Lowell said.
Menendez and Melgen were indicted in 2015 and face multiple fraud and bribery charges in a case that could threaten Menendez’s political career and potentially alter the makeup of a deeply divided U.S. Senate if he’s convicted.
If he is expelled or steps down before Gov. Chris Christie leaves office on Jan. 16, the Republican would pick Menendez’s successor. A Democrat has a large polling and financial advantage in November’s election to replace Christie.
Menendez said before entering the courthouse on Wednesday: “Not once have I dishonored my public office.”
Menendez has kept up a busy public appearance schedule while under indictment, and that didn’t change on Wednesday.
After court adjourned, Menendez attended a rally of about 100 people outside a federal immigration building next to the courthouse to protest Republican President Donald Trump’s decision to end deportation protection for young immigrants living in the country illegally.
“We can keep the dream alive,” he told the crowd through a megaphone. “You are not alone.”
During the government’s opening statement, Justice Department attorney Peter Koski described Menendez pressuring government officials to help Melgen with securing visas for his foreign girlfriends and intervening in a lucrative port security contract in the Dominican Republic and a multimillion-dollar Medicare dispute.