UPDATE: NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial has ended in a mistrial after the jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked on the charges against the Democrat and his co-defendant.
Judge William Walls declared the mistrial Thursday.
The jury first told him on Monday they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on any of the 18 counts in the indictment against Menendez and a wealthy friend. They said Thursday they reviewed the evidence “slowly and thoroughly and in great detail” but remained deadlocked.
The trial was in its 11th week. Menendez and Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen (MEHL’-genn) were charged with running a bribery scheme between 2006 and 2013 in which Menendez traded his political influence for luxury vacations and flights on the doctor’s private plane.
Prosecutors have the option of retrying the men.
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1:07 PM UPDATE: NEWARK, N.J. (AP) – Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial ends with mistrial after jury can’t reach unanimous verdict.
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NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — The judge and lawyers in Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial are interviewing jurors as the jury says it remained deadlocked.
Menendez’s defense lawyer on Thursday asked Judge William Walls to declare a mistrial. An attorney for co-defendant Salomon Melgen asked Walls to poll the jury individually to confirm they are deadlocked.
Federal prosecutors have asked Walls to give the jury more time to deliberate and to give them partial verdict instructions, but Walls says he won’t do that.
Deliberations began Nov. 6. On Monday the jury told the judge they were deadlocked, but he told them to keep going. They deliberated Tuesday, Wednesday and some of Thursday morning without reaching a unanimous verdict against the New Jersey Democrat and the Florida eye doctor.
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