Jurors in Bob Menendez trial send note about unanimity on single verdict

July 15 (UPI) -- Jurors deliberating in the federal fraud trial of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez on Monday sent a note to the judge asking whether a not guilty verdict on one count requires unanimity.

The note came on the second day of deliberations by six men and six women in Manhattan, N.Y.

"Does a not guilty verdict on a single count require unanimity?" the jury said in the note read aloud in court just after 11 a.m.

District Judge Sidney Stein sent back a note that they need to be unanimous on every count in the indictment, whether they vote to convict or acquit.

The jurors deliberated for about three hours Friday.

The trial is in its 10th week.

Menendez, 70, has been charged with 16 felonies, including bribery, extortion and acting as an illegal foreign agent, in connection to an alleged scheme to collect gold bars, cash and other bribes in exchange for catering to New Jersey businessmen and foreign governments.

His alleged partners in the scheme, businessman Wael Hana and real estate mogul Fred Daibes, face bribery and other charges.

Prosecutors allege Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, tried to obstruct the investigation after characterizing some of the alleged bribe payments as loans

Nadine Menendez's trial was postponed until August because she's recovering from breast cancer surgery. Like her husband, she has pleaded not guilty.

More than $480,000 in cash was seized from their New Jersey home during a 2022 FBI raid.

Menendez explained the cash stockpile stemmed from his family's experience in Cuba, before he was born.

He also faced federal corruption charges in 2015, but a jury failed to reach a verdict. Charges were dropped in 2018.

The senator didn't testify in his own defense in the latest trial.

He is the 13th sitting senator in American history to be indicted while holding office and the fourth to be indicted multiple times while serving.

Menendez, who was appointed to the seat in January 2006, stepped down as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee but has refused to resign. He didn't seek re-election in the Democratic primary this year. Several weeks ago he announced he would run as an independent.

U.S. Rep. Andy Kim won the Democratic primary.