A federal judge declined to delay the corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) by two months, keeping the previously scheduled timeline on track.
Menendez, who is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, had hoped to move jury selection for his trial from May to July. The trial for Menendez, his wife, and three New Jersey businessmen will begin on May 5, federal Judge Sidney Stein ordered.
Menendez’s defense team said that it needed extra time because of the “unprecedented foreign-agent charge against a sitting Senator” and due to the 6.7 million documents that will be used in the case. The judge rejected this argument, saying that federal prosecutors had told Menendez’s lawyers what to expect, according to the Associated Press.
“The fact that discovery has been voluminous is consistent with the parties’ stated expectations on October 2 and…
