A federal judge has ruled against U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez's assertions that search warrants used in corruption charges against him were unconstitutional. Judge Sidney H. Stein determined that the warrants, which led to the discovery of gold bars and cash at Menendez's New Jersey home, were properly obtained and executed.
The warrants, issued between January and July 2022, included searches of the senator's email accounts and residence. Despite claims by Menendez's legal team that the warrants contained misrepresentations and omissions, Judge Stein found no evidence of intentional wrongdoing or material omissions.
During searches of Menendez's home in June 2022, authorities uncovered over $100,000 worth of gold bars and more than $480,000 in cash, concealed in various locations such as closets, clothing, and a safe. Photos presented in the indictment revealed cash hidden in envelopes inside jackets bearing Menendez's name, along with incriminating Google searches and DNA evidence.
Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty, maintained that the cash found in his residence was personal savings reserved for emergencies. Following his arrest, Menendez stepped down from his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee but refused to resign from Congress.
The corruption case also involves Menendez's wife and two businessmen, all of whom have pleaded not guilty. One of the businessmen recently entered a guilty plea as part of a cooperation agreement with prosecutors.
According to the indictment, Menendez and his wife allegedly accepted gold bars and cash from a real estate developer in exchange for the senator's assistance in securing business deals. The charges also accuse Menendez of using his influence to benefit a New Jersey business associate in dealings with the government of Egypt.
The trial for Menendez and the other defendants is scheduled for May. Menendez's legal team has not yet commented on Judge Stein's ruling, while prosecutors declined to provide a statement.
In his decision, Judge Stein emphasized that the search warrants only needed to establish probable cause for finding evidence related to criminal activities, a threshold he deemed adequately met by the information presented in the affidavits supporting the warrants.
