A federal judge in New York rejected the dismissal of bribery charges against Sen. Bob Menendez, stating that his actions were not shielded by his role as a United States senator or as the former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Menendez attempted to have charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, and conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent, dismissed.
However, the judge ruled that none of these charges should be dismissed based on the protections provided by the U.S. Constitution's Speech and Debate Clause for members of Congress, and no allegations should be removed.
The senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, are also facing additional charges of obstruction, which were not addressed in Thursday's order. Both the couple and other defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges across four indictments.
Their trial is slated to begin in May.
