To fully capture the scope of the federal bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez, CNN will update this list each week with new totals derived from the past week’s court proceedings.
The Democratic senator from New Jersey is accused of accepting lavish travel and hotel stays from his friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen. Through various “official acts” as a senator, prosecutors say Menendez violated federal bribery laws by advocating for the doctor in a number of ongoing disputes Melgen had with the federal government.
Menendez and Melgen deny the charges.
Witnesses
Total number of witnesses: 57
One witness, FBI special agent Alan Mohl, has been called three times thus far.
Number of pilots who have testified: 3
Richard Nylund, Richard Ravido and David Donovan were pilots who flew Menendez on Melgen’s private jets.
Number of FBI agents who have testified: 3
Special agent Alan Mohl, supervisory intelligence analyst Jane Ruch, and special agent Christina Cobb have all testified about the investigation.
Evidence
Number of free plane rides Menendez accepted from Melgen: It depends…
While the prosecution and defense don’t disagree that the these flights occurred, they completely disagree on how to characterize the flights and which ones matter in this trial. The prosecution counts each leg of a flight as a separate entity, while the defense counts total round trips. As a result, the prosecution has told the jury the number of rides Menendez received as gifts is 20 (including a commercial flight and two flights Melgen paid for Menendez’s friend), but the defense has told the jury the number of round trip flights is closer to 5 (excluding times when Menendez wasn’t on the plane and only including trips to the Dominican Republic).
Number of years the defense team says the two men were friends before all this happened (to support their case): 14
Defense attorneys claim that Menendez and Melgen became were friends for 25 years — and that all of the gifts, trips, and donations prosecutors seek to use as evidence happened way before 2006 — suggesting their was no “corrupt pact” once Menendez became a senator.
Number of years the prosecution says Menendez failed to report Melgen’s gifts: 4
The government alleges that Menendez left flights given to him by Melgen off his Senate financial disclosure forms covering the years 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010.
Number of women Menendez is accused of helping get into the US: 4
Menendez allegedly helped Melgen obtain visas for women from Ukraine, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.
The Lawyers
Number of Justice Department prosecutors: 4
The DOJ team includes Peter Koski and J.P. Cooney, deputy chiefs of the public integrity section at the Justice Department, as well as trial attorneys Monique Abrishami and Amanda Vaughn.
Number of defense attorneys: 10
The combined Melgen/Menendez defense team includes primary lead attorneys Abbe Lowell (for Menendez), Kirk Ogrosky (for Melgen), as well as Jenny Kramer, Christopher Man, Raymond Brown, Justin P. Kolbenschlag, Gregg Hilzer, Murad Hussain, Jonathan Cogan, and Samuel A. Stern.
The Jury
Total: 12 (7 women and 5 men)
Alternates: 6
Number of times the judge has sent the jury out of the courtroom (and not for breaks!): 81
Judge William Walls regularly has the jury whisked out of the courtroom to determine the admissibility of certain evidence.
Highest number so far on a single day: 7 times (October 24)
Walls frequently says: “Time for your aerobics.”
The Judge
Number of times the 1977 World War II film, “A Bridge Too Far,” has been referenced: 19
Walls is a fan of movie references.
Here’s a typical exchange:
Murad Hussain, an attorney for Dr. Melgen: Good morning, your Honor. Your favorite movie was on TV last week, “A Bridge Too Far.”
Walls: What favorite movie?
Hussain: “A Bridge Too Far.”
Walls: Did you watch it?
Hussain: I did.
Walls: Did you learn from it?
Hussain: I see —
Walls: Say again.
Hussain: I see the bridge of Arnhem off in the distance and I will stop right here.