Judge Rejects Sen. Menendez’s Request To Delay Bribery Trial

NEW JERSEY — The New York federal judge scheduled to preside over the bribery trial of New Jersey senator Bob Menendez rejected on Thursday a defense request to delay the start of jury selection from May to July.

Judge Sidney H. Stein's order means the May 5 trial date in Manhattan will remain in place for Menendez, who faces trial along with his wife and three New Jersey businessmen.

All have pleaded not guilty to charges alleging they engaged in a bribery conspiracy that nabbed the senator and his wife Nadine cash, gold bars, and a luxury car.

Authorities accused the pair of accepting bribes from businessmen who sought the senator’s help and influence over foreign affairs.

Menendez, his wife, and one of the businessmen also have pleaded not guilty to a charge that they conspired to illegally use the senator as an agent of the Egyptian government from January 2018 to June 2022.

That indictment, filed in October, alleged that the Garden State's senior senator "provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt," documents show.

Lawyers for Menendez claimed earlier this month that they need extra time to prepare for trial, in part because they've been given over 6.7 million documents that they must sift through and because the complexity of the case requires resolving questions of law that may take extra time to decide.

Prosecutors opposed the request because they had warned defense lawyers when the trial date was set in the fall that the evidence they would turn over would be voluminous and that nothing has changed since then.

In his order, Stein agreed with prosecutors, saying that the evidence turned over by prosecutors to defense lawyers was consistent with the amount of material the government had projected would be involved in the trial.

After his September arrest, the senator gave up his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has resisted calls for him to resign from his Senate seat.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.