WASHINGTON _ The Supreme Court Monday rejected Sen. Bob Menendez's request to review his federal corruption case, dealing a blow to the New Jersey Democrat's hopes of having key evidence and charges dismissed.
The decision was announced Monday morning. It clears the way for Menendez's trial to move forward this fall. It is scheduled to begin Sept. 6.
"As the Senator has been saying for more than four years since the government began chasing these wild allegations, he has always acted in accordance with the law," Menendez's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement Monday. "Sen. Menendez remains confident that he will be vindicated when all the facts are heard at trial."
By declining to hear the case, the high court lets stand lower court rulings that went against Menendez and for prosecutors.
Menendez had sought a Supreme Court hearing in an attempt to fight bribery charges centering on his relationship with Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, a wealthy friend and major political donor.
Menendez, indicted in April 2015, is accused of accepting nearly $1 million in campaign donations and gifts _ including numerous flights on Melgen's private plane and stays at luxurious vacation sites _ in exchange for using his office to press for government action that would help Melgen's business interests.
On one issue, Menendez advocated for policies that would have aided Melgen in a $9 million billing dispute with the government.
Menendez and Melgen have said the donations and gifts were between friends, and that the senator's work was the kind of legislative oversight that is routine for lawmakers and protected by the Constitution's "speech and debate" clause. The clause is intended to shield lawmakers doing their jobs from executive branch intimidation.
The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals twice rejected Menendez's arguments last year.
Lowell's statement called it "disappointing" that the Court "did not take this opportunity to set a clear, bright line of the separation of powers."
"While the Senator always understood it is rare that the Supreme Court hears any case before trial, given the gravity of the Constitutional issues raised, he believed it was important to try," Lowell said.
Federal prosecutors have argued that Menendez's actions are not protected, and that his reading of the law would make senators into "super citizens" shielded from punishment for corruption.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokesman declined to comment Monday.
