Sen. Menendez Fails in Constitutional Challenge to Indictments

Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) constitutional challenge to his indictment on charges of bribery and acting as a foreign agent on behalf of the government of Egypt was rejected Thursday by a federal court.

Menendez’s alleged actions related to his process for recommending a US Attorney for the District of New Jersey, the focus of the bribery charges, and promises he allegedly made to Egypt regarding foreign aid, were not protected by the speech and debate clause of the Constitution, Judge Sydney H. Stein of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York said.

Stein rejected Menendez’s motion ...