Judge William Walls declared a mistrial in the public corruption trial of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Dr. Salomon Melgen on Thursday.
NJ.com reported the news shortly after noon eastern time:
A hopelessly deadlocked jury brought an abrupt end to the corruption trial of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez Thursday with the declaration of a mistrial, after a contentious 11-week courtroom drama that concluded without a final act.
The government now must decide whether to retry the Democratic lawmaker from New Jersey and co-defendant Salomon Melgen, a wealthy Florida ophthalmologist, who are accused of swapping lavish gifts for government favors.
In a note sent to out shortly before noon, jurors said they were unable to reach a verdict. While saying they had “reviewed all the evidence slowly, thoroughly and in great detail,” they concluded: “We cannot reach a unanimous decision on any of the charges, nor are we willing to move away from our strong convictions.
Federal prosecutors are expected to review the details of the trial prior to deciding if they will retry Menendez and Melgen.
Menendez is up for re-election in November 2018, and has given no indication that he will not run for another six-year term.
Bob Menendez: “To those who were digging my political grave so they could jump into my seat, I know who you are and I won’t forget you.” pic.twitter.com/ajMxlwXlIE
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) November 16, 2017
In April, co-defendant Melgen was convicted on 67 felony counts of Medicare fraud in a separate trial.
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