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Prosecutors fire back at Pro-Armenian Bob Menendez bid to delay corruption trial

27 December 2023 12:14 (UTC +04:00)

US Federal prosecutors asked a Manhattan judge Tuesday to reject Pro-Armenian Senator Bob Menendez’s push to shelve his trial on corruption charges until after New Jersey’s June 4 primary, APA reports citing New York Post.

According to the publication, US Attorney Damian Williams argued in a filing to US District Judge Sidney Stein that the current schedule — which sets the trial to begin May 6, 2024, was “expedited, but reasonable.”

Attorneys for Menendez and his co-defendants implored Stein last week to postpone the trial to early July, citing the complexity of the case as well as the “volume and timing of the government’s disclosures.”

Note that, Menendez, 69, is accused along with his wife Nadine of accepting bribes — including more than $150,000 in gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible— to assist businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes, all of whom are also charged in the case.

Menendez, the former chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is also accused of acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.