News in brief
By The Associated Press
Sen. Menendez, wife will have separate bribery trials
NEW YORK | U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife will be tried separately on allegations that they participated in a bribery scheme, a federal judge ruled Thursday, agreeing to sever and delay Nadine Menendez’s trial after her lawyers argued that she requires treatment for a serious medical condition.
The New Jersey Democrat’s trial will remain scheduled for May 6 in Manhattan federal court, while Nadine Menendez’s trial was tentatively pushed back to July.
“This trial is going forward without Mrs. Menendez,” said Judge Sidney H. Stein. “The government is going to have to try this case two times.”
Assange’s wife: Biden’s comments mean case could be moving in right direction
LONDON | The wife of Julian Assange says her husband’s legal case “could be moving in the right direction.” Stella Assange spoke Thursday after President Joe Biden confirmed the U.S. may drop charges against the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder. It came as supporters in several cities rallied to demand the release of Assange, on the fifth anniversary of his incarceration in London’s high-security Belmarsh prison.
Biden said Wednesday that his administration is “considering” a request from Australia to drop the decade-long U.S. push to prosecute Assange, who is Australian, for publishing a trove of classified American documents. Officials have not provided more details, but Stella Assange said the comments are “a good sign.”
Bragg: Trump’s hush money criminal trial isn’t about politics
NEW YORK | Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg finds himself at the center of a political firestorm as he prepares to bring the first of Donald Trump’s four criminal prosecutions to trial. Since Bragg’s election two years ago, the Democrat has often spoken about his unease with the job’s political demands.
The upcoming trial over hush money payments allegedly made by Trump during the 2016 election will test Bragg’s efforts to portray himself as apolitical in the face of relentless attacks from the Republican former president and his supporters. Bragg says he’s treating Trump as he would any other defendant in a white-collar crime case.
The trial is scheduled to begin Monday.
—From AP reports
