Attorneys for former Democratic New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez criticized the government’s mishandling of evidence in his corruption trial on Monday, following an error during deliberations.
The incident involved federal prosecutors inadvertently displaying nine exhibits with unredacted content, which had been mistakenly uploaded from a laptop used to manage evidence files, according to The Hill. In a letter to U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein, Menendez’s legal team called the error “deeply troubling.”
While prosecutors admitted the mistake in court, they argued it should not impact Menendez’s conviction or require corrective action, The Hill reported. Adam Fee, Menendez’s lawyer, voiced concern over the government’s efforts to downplay the issue.
“The government’s attempt to downplay its recent discovery raises more questions about its conduct than it answers,” said Adam Fee, attorney for former Senator Bob Menendez. Fee disclosed that the defense was unaware of the error for nearly two weeks after prosecutors discovered it, learning of the issue only through a letter from the prosecution last Wednesday.
According to The Hill, Menendez’s defense claims prosecutors failed to thoroughly review the thousands of exhibits presented to the jury and did not preserve the original versions of those exhibits. Instead, they allegedly wiped the laptop containing the evidence after the trial concluded.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni, in a communication with Judge Sidney Stein, admitted that neither side initially noticed the mistake. He downplayed the possibility that the unredacted content influenced the jury’s decision, arguing against the need for a retrial. Monteleoni described the likelihood of jurors even noticing the error as minimal.
Following the revelation of the mishandled evidence, Menendez accused the prosecution of manipulating evidence and stated the error demonstrated they “cannot be trusted.” His legal team has requested a briefing schedule to further investigate the implications of the error.
Menendez, who resigned from the Senate in August after being convicted on multiple charges—including bribery and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt—continues to maintain his innocence. He plans to appeal his conviction, with sentencing set for January 29.
In July, a federal court convicted Menendez of accepting bribes in exchange for actions benefiting the Egyptian government, including supporting U.S. military aid to Egypt and disclosing sensitive U.S. Embassy personnel information. Investigators found over $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in cash hidden in the former senator’s home.
