Federal prosecutors say their investigation into New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is continuing as he faces numerous corruption charges, including that he acted as an agent for a foreign government, and pressure by fellow Democrats to resign.
Prosecutors referenced the ongoing investigation numerous times in a letter to the judge responding to media organizations request to unseal or unredact portions of recent motions filed in the case.
“Although the grand jury has returned indictments in this case, its investigation remains ongoing,” prosecutors said.
Prosecutors often say investigations are ongoing; however, in this case they have added to the allegations facing Menendez twice since they were initially announced.
Prosecutors said they don’t oppose removing redactions for certain information in the filings but argued against unsealing others because it could reveal matters under investigation.
“With an ongoing investigation, and in the shadow of an upcoming trial, any potential witness statement concerning matters under investigation or that may be the subject of trial – whether or not that particular witness is likely to be called – may influence or affect the testimony of other witnesses to those facts, affect the jury pool, or otherwise prejudice the course of the investigation or trial,” prosecutors wrote.
Menendez, his wife, Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen were indicated last fall in an alleged bribery scheme involving payments in gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a luxury car and passing sensitive information to the Egyptian government.
A superseding indictment was later handed up charging Menendez and his wife with conspiring to act as a foreign agent to Egypt. Earlier this month a third indictment was returned adding a new allegation that Menendez took steps to help Qatar in order to help one of the businessmen receive a multimillion-dollar investment from a Qatari-related investment fund.
Menendez has vigorously denied any wrongdoing as he faces calls from fellow Democrats to resign. He and the others pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Last week Menendez and his wife asked the judge to sever their cases so he doesn’t have to choose between defending himself and having his lawyers make arguments that could impugn his wife. They are set to go to trial in May.