A federal judge on Monday dismissed four bribery counts against New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, leaving intact most of the Justice Department’s case against the Democrat.
Menendez was charged in April with 18 counts, including 12 bribery counts that survived Monday’s ruling.
The four counts dismissed by U.S. District Court Judge William Walls relate to donations Menendez’s friend and Democratic Party donor Salomon Melgen made to a Menendez legal defense fund called “The Fund to Uphold the Constitution.”
The judge said the government’s charges didn’t meet the necessary legal hurdle to show specific a quid pro quo for the donations.
Judge Walls rejected multiple other motions by Menendez’s defense attorneys seeking to dismiss the government’s charges. Menendez’s attorneys argued that the senator’s acceptance of gifts and donations from his didn’t constitute bribery and in any case was protected by the First Amendment or the Constitution’s Speech and Debate clause.
The Justice Department declined to comment on Monday’s ruling.