On Monday, a federal judge rejected Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D – NJ) claims that search warrants executed on his home were unconstitutional, according to The Hill.
The search warrant opened the doors to investigators who discovered gold bars and cash at his New Jersey home.
Judge Rejects Sen. Menendez’s Claim That Search Warrants Were ‘Unconstitutional’ In Bribery Case https://t.co/yxw57lwJSB #OAN
— One America News (@OANN) March 5, 2024
Menendez’s defense lawyers asserted the warrants were “riddled with material misrepresentation and omissions that deceived the authorizing magistrate judge,” according to court documents.
In June, FBI agents discovered $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in cash while executing a search of Menendez’s home.
The Senator was later indicted on bribery charges which accuse him and his wife of accepting over $600,000 in bribes from a group of New Jersey businessmen on behalf of interests in Egypt.
After considering the defense claims, Judge Sidney H. Stein ruled the 2022 email account and house searches were lawfully requested and executed.
Stein also ruled against one of the three businessmen charged in the case, Wael Hana, who challenged one of the search warrants.
“Menendez and Hana have failed to make a substantial preliminary showing of material misrepresentations or omissions that, based on credible evidence, are deliberately or recklessly misleading,” Stein wrote.
The judge’s ruling noted that the affidavits supporting requests for a search warrant only need to show probable cause.
“As the government asserts—and Menendez does not contest—the affidavit need only establish probable cause that the evidence, fruits, or instrumentalities of a crime would be found in the search, even if the crime was only perpetrated among Nadine, Hana, and the New Jersey Defendant,” Stein wrote.
He concluded that the “threshold is amply satisfied by the documentary evidence described in the affidavit.”
The charges against Menedez also accuse him of acting as a foreign agent of Egypt between June 2018 and June 2022.
A second indictment earlier this year accused the Senator of accepting gifts for aiding a foreign government.
Menendez and his wife pleaded not guilty to the charges, according to The Hill.
On Friday, one of the businessmen charged in the case, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, obstruction of justice, and tax evasion, according to court filings.
The other two businessmen charged, Hana and Fred Daibes, have pleaded not guilty.
