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Prosecutors in Bob Menendez trial can’t use evidence they say is critical to case, judge rules
Washington — Prosecutors trying to prove that New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez wielded his political influence in exchange for bribes cannot show jurors evidence that they argue is “critical” to their case, a federal judge ruled Friday.
U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein said prosecutors could not use text messages from 2019 that allegedly show Menendez, who was the top Democrat on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, assuring Egypt and the New Jersey businessmen who are alleged to have bribed him that he was not delaying military aid to the country after Egypt heard he had put a hold on it.
The jury also cannot see another text from 2022 in which the senator’s wife, Nadine, allegedly told one of the businessmen that “Bob had to sign off on this.” The text included a link about two pending foreign military sales to Egypt, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors argued last week that Egypt was “frantic about not getting their money’s worth,” which is why it contacted Menendez through two of the New Jersey businessmen, who allegedly gave the senator cash, gold bars, and other things of value. The text involving Menendez’s wife signaled, “You keep the bribes flowing, and he is going to keep giving you what you want on the military aid,” prosecutor Paul Monteleoni told Stein before the decision.
But Stein determined the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which protects lawmakers against prosecution over official legislative acts, applied to the evidence.
“The core legislative act is clearly the hold or releasing the hold. I don’t think it matters that there was mistaken information here,” Stein said Tuesday, before making his decision official in an order later in the week.
Such an interpretation would prohibit “some of the core most critical evidence,” Monteleoni countered.
While the decision could complicate prosecutors’ case against Menendez as it relates to Egypt and military aid, the senator is also facing a slew of other charges.
The corruption trial entered its third week Tuesday and could last until early July. Jurors have heard from a handful of witnesses, including an FBI agent who led the search of the senator’s New Jersey home in June 2022, an agricultural attaché who questioned Egypt awarding a halal certification monopoly to one of the New Jersey businessmen, and a lawyer who worked for the halal company and testified about a $23,568.54 payment made to a lender of Menendez’s wife to save their home from foreclosure.
The North Carolina county that is home to Asheville overcounted deaths caused by Helene by as many as 30, according to a statement Tuesday from its sheriff’s office and data from the state, significantly reducing the death toll from the historic storm.
Buncombe County officials, who previously reported 72 deaths, are now deferring to a state tally of 42 deaths for the county.
The county’s number dates back to an Oct. 3 news release in which county officials reported that “72 lives have been lost due to Hurricane Helene,” repeating a number cited by Sheriff Quentin Miller at an earlier media briefing. But state officials, relying on reviews by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh, have consistently reported a number lower than that for the county. The number for Buncombe County included in the state’s tally has stood at 42 since at least Oct. 10.
On Tuesday, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s office acknowledged in a statement that the number of deaths in the county was lower than the number it provided.
“In the early aftermath of Hurricane Helene, all deaths were being classified as storm related and from Buncombe County. However, as the days progressed, BCSO was able to identify who had passed away due to the hurricane, who was in fact from Buncombe County, and who passed away from other causes,” Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Christina Esmay told CBS News in a statement Tuesday. “Compounded with the lack of consistent communication, due to widespread outages, the Buncombe County fatality number that was initially provided to Sheriff Miller has decreased.”
The sheriff’s office did not provide additional information.
The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Raleigh typically reviews weather deaths and makes a ruling on cause before reporting numbers through state officials, a process it has used in past storms for years. But in the chaos following Helene, a number of counties reported fatality numbers independently of the state. The state’s tally has gradually increased through Tuesday, but the climb has slowed as bodies have been examined.
A spokesperson from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told CBS News that Buncombe County is “relying on the state to report storm-related deaths.” Hannah Jones, the spokesperson, said the state’s count of storm-related fatalities stands at 96, with 42 of these deaths were in Buncombe County.
“We do not have information about how Buncombe County was determining fatality numbers for the death totals they were reporting for their county. We understand that Buncombe County decided to stop their independent reporting a couple weeks ago and are relying on the state to report storm-related deaths,” Jones said.
Another county, Henderson, had previously reported two more deaths than the state, but said on Tuesday that it agrees with the state’s tally of 7 deaths.
Using the new North Carolina figures, CBS News has now confirmed through Tuesday at least 215 total deaths across multiple states due to Helene.
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Target is cutting prices on more than 2,000 products for the holiday shopping season. The move marks the continuation a recent trend among retail and fast-food chains looking to entice budget-conscious consumers with value meals and discounted items.
Minneapolis-based Target on Tuesday said it would reduce the cost of Target-owned and national brands, including food and beverages, everyday basics like cough medicine, toys and other holiday gifts.
The announcement comes after Target in May cut prices on about 5,000 of its products, bringing the total to more than 8,000 items discounted so far this year. By the end of the holiday season, the company said it will have lowered prices on more than 10,000 items during the year.
In markets across the country from Phoenix to Atlanta, most of Target’s nearly 2,000 stores, its website Target.com and its app are featuring the following lower prices, according to the retailer:
Target touted its reductions just days after Aldi unveiled its lowest-price Thanksgiving spread in five years, besting an offer by its bigger rival, Walmart, by about two bucks. The discount retailers echo the messaging of fast-food chains offering $5 value meals.
North Carolina county overcounted Helene deaths by as many as 30, sheriff says
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North Carolina county overcounted Helene deaths by as many as 30, sheriff says
FBI investigating classified documents leak on Israel’s Iran attack plan