The actions of federal prosecutors are under scrutiny following their admission that jurors in former Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial were shown improper evidence. Menendez’s legal team expressed concerns over the mishandling of evidence after nine exhibits containing unredacted material were inadvertently shown to the jury.
In a letter directed to U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein, Menendez’s attorneys emphasized how troubling it was that the government uploaded alternative versions of evidence onto the laptop used by the jury. This mistake resulted in nine exhibits being presented with sensitive material that should have been concealed.
Although prosecutors flagged the error last week, they argued that it should not jeopardize Menendez’s conviction. They suggested no further action was necessary, but Menendez’s attorney, Adam Fee, disagreed, raising doubts about the government’s conduct in light of the discovery.
Menendez attorneys challenge government over mishandled evidence
Fee pointed out that the defense team was not informed of the error until last Wednesday, even though prosecutors were aware of the issue approximately two weeks earlier.
He also criticized the lack of a proper review process, noting that prosecutors had not conducted a “quality control check” on the exhibits or preserved them in the same condition they were given to the jury, opting instead to erase the laptop after it was used.
The defense plans to address the implications of this deletion, including whether it constitutes spoliation or another form of misconduct, as noted in Fee’s letter to the court.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Monteleoni, in his notification to Judge Stein, explained that neither the prosecution nor the defense had caught the error and suggested that the unredacted content likely did not influence the jury’s decision. He deemed it unlikely that jurors even noticed the discrepancy and argued that a new trial was unnecessary given the minimal impact of the mistake.
Menendez resigned from his Senate position in August after being convicted on 16 charges, including accepting bribes and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt. Despite his conviction, he maintains his innocence and plans to appeal, with his sentencing scheduled for January 29.
In a statement following the error’s revelation, Menendez accused prosecutors of manipulating the evidence and argued that this further undermines their credibility. His legal team has requested that the judge establish a briefing schedule to address these new developments.
