The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to immediately take up a petition of U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-New Jersey, claiming that corruption charges against him are pre-empted by the speech or debate clause of the Constitution.
The court’s Monday order denying certiorari, clears the way for U.S. District Judge William Walls of the District of New Jersey to resume pretrial proceedings, which have been on hold since Menendez filed an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in November 2015. The Supreme Court order did not state a reason for its refusal to hear the case, in which Menendez is accused of accepting money and gifts from Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in exchange for using the power of his office to intervene with federal officials on behalf of Melgen’s personal and business interests.
