Federal prosecutors said Friday that they would retry U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., two months after a jury in Newark deadlocked on bribery charges against him.
The Justice Department said it would also retry Menendez's co-defendant, Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen.
After an 11-week trial, a judge in November declared a mistrial when jurors said they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Jurors later said the vote was 10-2 to acquit the defendants on most of the 18 counts. Given that split, prosecutors will likely have to reshape parts of their case to win a conviction in a new trial.
The Justice Department said the decision to retry the case "was made based on the facts and the law, following a careful review." A date hasn't been set for the new trial, but prosecutors asked the judge to schedule it for the "earliest possible date."
Prosecutors also accused defense attorneys of "making comments and arguments designed to politicize and racialize this case" during the first trial, and asked the judge to prohibit such comments during the second trial.
Menendez's office said it was disappointed by the decision.
"We regret that the DOJ, after spending millions and millions of taxpayer dollars, and failing to prove a single allegation in a court of law, has decided to double down on an unjust prosecution," the office said in a statement. "Evidently, they did not hear the overwhelming voices of the New Jerseyites who served on the jury this fall. Senator Menendez fully intends to be vindicated _ again."
Menendez is accused of accepting free trips on Melgen's private jet, vacations at his villa in the Dominican Republic, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions in exchange for advancing Melgen's personal and financial interests.
Prosecutors say Menendez helped obtain visas for Melgen's foreign girlfriends, pressured federal officials to resolve the doctor's multimillion-dollar Medicare billing dispute in his favor, and pushed an assistant secretary of state to advance Melgen's interests in a port-security contract dispute with the Dominican Republic.
For the most part, Menendez hasn't denied taking those actions. But he has said he was motivated by friendship and legitimate policy interests _ an argument that appeared to resonate with jurors. Melgen was convicted of Medicare fraud in a separate criminal case last year, and prosecutors have asked a Florida judge to impose a 30-year prison term.
A grand jury charged Menendez and Melgen in 2015 with conspiracy, bribery, and honest services fraud. The senator was also charged with making false statements on his financial disclosure forms.
Menendez, who has been in the Senate since 2006, has signaled that he's likely to seek a third term in November's election. But a damaging retrial _ and possible conviction _ could thwart those plans. New Jersey's most powerful Democrats, including Gov. Phil Murphy, have said they would support the senator's re-election campaign.
Candidates must submit petitions by April 2 to appear on the June 5 primary ballot. If Menendez were to resign, Murphy could appoint a replacement.
New Jersey voters have not elected a Republican to the Senate in more than 40 years.
���
(Jonathan Tamari contributed to this report.
