Key Points
NEW YORK A jury deliberating over 18 charges at the bribery trial of Sen. Bob Menendez in New York City asked the judge on Monday if unanimity is required to acquit on a single count..
The jurors sent the note after resuming discussions Monday morning in Manhattan federal court, following their first three hours of deliberations on Friday..
Menendez, 70, has denied charges that he engaged in a bribery scheme from 2018 to 2023 to benefit three New Jersey businessmen, including by serving as a foreign agent for the government of Egypt..
Lawyers for Menendez insisted the three-term senator never accepted bribes and that actions he took to benefit the businessmen were the kinds of tasks expected of a public official..
They said his actions helped speed $99 million in military shipments of helicopter ammunition to Egypt, while other communications he carried out with Egyptian officials were also part of his job as a senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a position he was forced to relinquish after charges were announced last fall..
