Judge Acquits Menéndez on Four Counts

On Monday, we told you that the Justice Department had announced it would retrySenator Bob Menéndez (D-NJ), despite a jury failing to reach a verdict in the federal corruption case. Yesterday, Judge William Walls dismissed seven charges -- four counts against Menéndez and three counts against the Senator’s co-defendant, Dr. Salomón Melgen -- in the case against the two men. Walls struck down charges dealing with alleged bribery involving political donations Melgen made to Menéndez, but the Senator still faces nine counts, including charges of bribery, fraud, and lying on Senate disclosure forms. “A rational juror could not find that Menendez and Melgen were aware of the terms of the alleged quid quo,” Walls wrote. We’ll keep you posted. More here.