Judge Will Not Allow Prostitution Allegations in Menéndez Trial -- Even Though His Team Wanted Them In

Judge William Walls awarded Senator Bob Menéndez’s (D-NJ) legal team a small victory when he ruled that Menéndez could tell the jury about official actions the Senator took on behalf of others and not just his co-defendant, Salomón Melgen. The legal team plans to introduce evidence showing he has intervened on behalf of many other constituents with visa and other issues during his 11 years in the Senate, just like he’s alleged to have done for Melgen. Judge Walls did rule against the Menéndez team on the issue of the Senator’s alleged use of prostitutes while he vacationed in the Dominican Republic. Menéndez’s team wanted to keep those allegations as part of the case, while the government’s attorneys wanted them gone. The Senator’s attorneys argued that the allegations provide needed context to Menéndez’s words. Politico has more here.