(Bloomberg) -- A federal jury began deliberating whether Senator Robert Menendez took bribes from a Florida eye doctor in a case that could have implications for the composition of the Senate and the ability of the Justice Department to prosecute corruption cases.
The panel spent about 75 minutes on the case Tuesday and will return on Tuesday. They must determine whether the New Jersey Democrat illegally took gifts from the doctor, Salomon Melgen, in exchange for intervening in government matters on his behalf. Defense lawyers argued the two men had exchanged favors during a 20-year friendship that was in no way corrupt.
A verdict, coming after a tense, nine-week trial in Newark, New Jersey, could reverberate in Washington. A conviction of Menendez, 63, could change the composition of the Senate, where Republicans hold 52 of 100 seats. If Menendez is convicted and resigns, outgoing Governor Chris Christie, a Republican, could appoint a replacement.
If Menendez refused to step down, two-thirds of Senate would have to agree to oust him. On Tuesday, voters will elect a new governor who will take the seat on Jan. 16. A Democrat is favored to win.
The trial was also the first major test for the Justice Department since a 2016 Supreme Court decision overturned the conviction of Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, making it harder for prosecutors to prove corruption by narrowing the definition of official acts.
Innocent Explanations
For Menendez and Melgen, the challenge over the past two months has been to offer innocent explanations for the private jet travel, Paris hotel suite and campaign contributions that the doctor gave to the lawmaker. Prosecutors described it as a prid quo pro in which Menendez intervened on Melgen's behalf in a $9 million Medicare overbilling dispute and a private contract standoff with the Dominican Republic. He also helped four women get visas to visit Melgen.
In his summation on Monday, Menendez attorney Abbe Lowell said prosecutors misled the jury and falsely asserted that the men acted with corrupt intent.
“There wasn't any evidence that any agreement occurred because it never did,” Lowell told jurors. “Where is there proof that these two men were concealing their relationship?”
Lowell, speaking rapidly and gesturing often, argued that the Justice Department had tried to twist the two men's relationship. Melgen's campaign contributions of more than $750,000 and other gifts, he said, reflected their friendship and common political interests.
Lowell showed jurors a series of family photos, including one of the senator attending the wedding of Melgen's daughter. “This is what real friendship looks like,” Lowell said. “This is the smile of someone with true affection for the family. They're real friends.”
Lavish Lifestyle
But Justice Department attorney Peter Koski, in his rebuttal argument, said Melgen's gifts allowed Menendez to live a lavish lifestyle he couldn't otherwise afford. “Friendship and bribery can co-exist,” Koski said. “The defendants were friends, but there were moments during the friendship that became corrupted.”
Koski said Menendez lied to the American public, he “lied to his staff, he lied to other government officials, he lied to the press.”
The 18-count indictment accuses both men of bribery, honest-services fraud, conspiracy and violating the Travel Act. Menendez is also charged with false statements for failing to disclose Melgen's gifts on his Senate ethics forms from 2006 to 2010.
In his summation, Lowell said the senator didn't disclose Melgen's gifts on his ethics forms because of a “mistake, an oversight, or rules that don't make a lot of sense,” not because of an intent to deceive. He also said the false-statements count should have been tried in Washington, where the forms were filed, and not in New Jersey.
While prosecutors say Menendez concealed gifts, Lowell sought to turn the concealment argument back on the Justice Department. Lowell said that prosecutors concealed key elements of the relationship between the men to make it appear more sinister than it was.
‘Guilty Box'
For instance, while prosecutors charged the senator with corruptly taking a half-dozen trips from the doctor, they omitted another 20 or so that Menendez paid for himself, Lowell said.
For every charge, Lowell said, prosecutors failed to show a corrupt agreement. “You cannot check the guilty box unless you ignore the evidence and the law,” he said.
Koski countered that Menendez served as Melgen's “personal United States senator.”
“This is not how a United States senator behaves,” Koski said. “This is not politics as usual. Not even close. This is corruption. This is bribery.”
Neither Menendez nor Melgen testified at the trial, which began Sept. 6. Two of Menendez's colleagues, Senator Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, and Senator Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, testified to his good character.
The case is U.S. v. Menendez, 15-cr-155, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Newark).
To contact the reporters on this story: David Voreacos in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, at dvoreacos@bloomberg.net, Neil Weinberg in New York at nweinberg2@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey D Grocott at jgrocott2@bloomberg.net, Andrew Martin
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