NEWARK, NJ–According to ABCNews, a federal judge has declared a mistrial in New Jersey Senator, Bob Menendez’s case. Jurors decided the case was deadlocked across the board.
Senator Menendez was previously charged with bribery and corruption. He was accused of accepting $1 million worth of gifts and donations for the campaign from Salomon Melgen, a Florida doctor.
According to the Justice Department, Menendez allegedly accepted private jet flights, vacations to Melgen’s private villa in the Dominican Republic and a 3-night stay in Paris. In exchange, Menendez would do political and personal favors for Melgen.
Throughout the trial Menendez maintained his innocence. Today he thanked his friends, family, congressional colleagues, and defense team for their support through this process. He also expressed his feelings towards the FBI’s actions during the investigation.
“The way this case started was wrong. The way it was investigated was wrong. The way it was prosecuted was wrong. And the way it was tried was wrong as well.. Certain elements of the FBI and of our state cannot understand or even worse, accept that the Latino kid from union city and Hudson County can grow up to be a United States senator and be honest,” said the senator.