A federal judge lowered the gavel Friday on Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez, denying his request to modify the schedule of his upcoming corruption trial so he can be in Washington D.C. for “critical votes.”
Menendez’s team filed a motion last week asking to modify the schedule because they felt the jury would react negatively to his absence in court.
U.S. District Court Judge William H. Walls was stern in his ruling on the matter, however.
“The court suspects that the trial strategy behind this motion, if granted, would be to impress the jurors with the public importance of the defendant senator and his duties,” he said, CNN reported. “Defendant Menendez ... need not appear in court if he does not wish or wants to be absent. He may voluntarily absent himself.”
Menendez, a New Jersey lawmaker, and Florida-based opthamologist Salomon Melgen each face 18 counts of fraud and bribery charges in the trial. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Walls noted in the ruling he had already changed the hours of the trial to end at 2:30 p.m. and would not make any further concessions. He refuted Menendez’s claim that he had a “unique situation” because he didn’t control the schedule of the votes, saying that the “radio repairman, the cab driver, and the businessman” also don’t control their own work schedules, and that Menendez would not receive special treatment for being a government official, CNN reported.
Walls further called the motion “frivolous,” the Washington Examiner reported.
Some of the votes referenced by Menendez’s legal team include bills on the debt ceiling, the National Flood Insurance Program, and the future of the Affordable Care Act.
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