Bob Menendez Mistrial... So Get Ready To Do This All Over Again

Bob Menendez is a free man for now.

Even though the Supreme Court basically legalized corruption in the McDonnell case, the Department of Justice trudged forward in its pursuit of New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez in gloriously Quixotic fashion. Along the way, administrations changed and the Sessions team tried to turn the trial into an effort to keep one Democratic Senator from exercising his vote on contentious legislation.

Not to besmirch the true believers at the Justice Department concerned about public corruption, but there was no small tinge of partisanship with a Democratic senator facing conviction in a state governed by a lame duck Republican governor.

But alas, all that speculation was much ado about nothing. Abbe Lowell, representing Menendez, asked for a mistrial days after the jury reported that they were hopelessly deadlocked. Menendez returns to the Senate today pretty happy to learn he’s not going to be the Democrat facing a tidal wave of pressure to resign, so that’s good for him.

Will the DOJ let this one go — especially considering the fact that even a conviction would face a tough fight upon appeal in the post-McDonnell world?

The answer: probably not.

Maybe someone will email Lowell pretending to be Menendez and give us something to talk about. Until then, we’re staring down another round of slow, wasteful drudgery in a few months.

Judge declares mistrial in Menendez prosecution [Washington Post]

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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