Menendez conviction: Could recent Supreme Court rulings help Sen. Menendez with appeal?
Legal analyst Candace Kelley points to a Supreme Court ruling last month, in which justices threw out the conviction of an Indiana mayor because he’d received payments after the fact.
More Stories
Sen. Bob Menendez says he plans to appeal his conviction on 16 felony charges, including bribery, extortion and acting as a foreign agent. Legal analysts tell Kane In Your Corner that his appeal could get a boost from recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, narrowing the scope of federal bribery and corruption charges.
Legal analyst Candace Kelley points to a Supreme Court ruling last month, in which justices threw out the conviction of an Indiana mayor because he’d received payments after the fact.
“The Supreme Court has recently spoken to this specific issue as to what would be in a public official’s duty, what counts as a bribe before an act and whether bribery needs to be taken into consideration,” Kelley says.
John Wisniewski, an attorney and former New Jersey Assembly member, says justices may also be willing to expand protections for federal officials.
RELATED: Calls among politicians grow for Sen. Bob Menendez to resign following bribery conviction
MORE: Sen. Bob Menendez convicted of all charges, including accepting bribes paid in cash, gold and a car
“This Supreme Court seems very eager to upend well-established law,” Wisniewski says. “It remains to be seen if they will address this case anytime soon, but if they do, you certainly have to keep an eye out for an analog to the presidential immunity decision, in which they may say the speech and debate clause in the U.S. Constitution provides a level of immunization to sitting U.S. senators.”
The verdict appears to have all but ended the senator’s political career, with lawmakers from both parties urging him to resign. But Menendez has filed for reelection as an independent. And under the law, there’s nothing stopping him from continuing that bid.
“He has no path to victory, and he's got to know that,” says political analyst Patrick Murray. “So the question is, ‘Why would he run?’ What would be his motivation?”
One possible motive could be money. Under the law, remaining in the race could help Menendez fund his appeal.
“You can use money that you raise in your campaign to pay for legal bills,” Murray says. “He's already done that. He already paid out at least $2 million.”
Up next for Menendez is his sentencing, which is set for Oct. 29 - one week before Election Day.
