Sen. Bob Menendez says the Department of Justice came to the “appropriate conclusion” by deciding not to retry him on corruption charges.

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday they would not retry Menendez and longtime friend Salomon Melgen, after a trial last fall ended in a hung jury.

The decision comes after a judge last week threw out seven of the charges.

Menendez was charged in 2015 with trading his political influence for gifts and campaign donations from Melgen over a seven-year period.

Menendez said Wednesday that he “never wavered in my innocence and my belief that justice would prevail.”

Menendez is up for re-election this fall.

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