[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website] on Friday refused to dismiss [opinion, PDF] bribery and fraud charges levied against US Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey. Menendez, who is believed to have accepted gifts in exchange for political influence, claims his meetings with government officials were to discuss policy and not for the purpose of garnering gifts and monetary contributions. In denying Menendez’s motion for dismissal, the court stated “the acts alleged in this case were essentially lobbying on behalf of a particular party and thus, under specific circumstances here, are outside of constitutional harbor,” granted by the Speech or Debate clause, which protects legislators from legal redress for legitimate legislative activities.

Menendez was charged [ABC report] with 14 counts of bribery in April, after a three-year investigation by the Justice Department. The senator’s indictment alleges that he accepted approximately $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions from his friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen, in exchange for using his political power to benefit the doctor. Among the various favors Menendez performed are pulling strings in a lawsuit against Melgen for $8.9 million of Medicare overbilling and helping Melgen’s girlfriends obtain their visas.