Bob Menendez to seek independent reelection bid amid federal corruption trial

Senator Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives at Manhattan federal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. The corruption trial of Sen. Menendez has begun in Manhattan federal court. The 70-year-old Democrat is accused of accepting bribes of gold and cash …TRENTON, N.J. —

The political states are high, given the Democrats’ narrow control in the Senate, where New Jersey is normally safely in Democratic hands. It’s unclear how much support Menendez could siphon from U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is in a favorable position to win the Democratic primary, which ends Tuesday. The GOP hasn’t won a U.S. Senate election in the state since 1972.

Menendez has denied there was any corrupt scheme. His attorneys said his conduct constituted carrying out diplomacy and working on behalf of constituents. The gold bars belonged to his wife, and the cash laying around his house was a longtime habit stemming from his parents’ escape from Communist Cuba, according to his attorney.

He survived politically after another federal trial - that time in New Jersey on charges that he used his office to help a friend defraud Medicare - in 2017. It ended in a deadlocked jury, and prosecutors declined to hold another trial. In 2018, with the backing of the state’s Democratic establishment, Menendez won reelection.

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