Sen. Bob Menendez was accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and campaign contributions. | Getty Sen. Menendez loses in appeals court

Sen. Robert Menendez has lost another round in federal court in seeking to have the bribery and corruption charges against him dismissed, and the New Jersey Democrat will now ask the Supreme Court to get involved in his case.

In another legal blow, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Philadelphia ruled Tuesday that it will not hold an "en banc" hearing on Menendez's case. In July, a three-judge panel of that court let stand the charges against him, rejecting his claims that his constitutional protections as a senator were violated.


Menendez and his co-defendant, Dr. Salomon Melgen, can now ask the Supreme Court to take up his appeal, or the Menendez can take his chances in front of a jury.

Menendez's defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, signaled that the New Jersey Democrat would ask the Supreme Court to take up his appeal.

"As he has said from the outset, Senator Menendez has always acted in accordance with the law and that, once all of the facts are presented in court, he is confident that he will be exonerated," Lowell said in a statement. "He believes the legal issues in his case are important enough to seek review from the trial court, the appeals court and the Supreme Court. These are the steps he has pursued and will continue to show that the allegations against him are wrong."

The Justice Department, meanwhile, is urging a federal judge in Newark to move ahead with Menendez's trial as soon as possible.

"It has been 17 months since a grand jury sitting in the District of New Jersey indicted Senator Menendez and Dr. Melgen for numerous counts of corruption," federal prosecutors said in a court filing Tuesday. "Accordingly, the Government respectfully requests that the Court schedule a status conference and set this case for trial at the earliest possible date."

Menendez was indicted in April 2015; he was accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper gifts and campaign contributions as bribes in exchange for using his office to help Melgen, a wealthy Florida ophthalmologist and longtime friend and financial backer.

According to the indictment, Menendez received nearly $1 million worth of gifts and campaign contributions from Melgen. In turn, Menendez allegedly intervened on Melgen’s behalf in a multimillion-dollar billing dispute with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and attempted to enforce a $500 million port security contract with the Dominican Republic, as well as obtaining visa applications for several of Melgen’s girlfriends.

Menendez has argued that under the Speech or Debate clause — a constitutional privilege that shields lawmakers and staff from legal action over legitimate legislative activities — he could not be charged with improperly aiding Melgen. He asked the Third Circuit to overrule a lower court, which had let the Justice Department's case against him move forward.

But the appeals court has now rejected Menendez's position. His only option to get the charges thrown out pre-trial is to ask the Supreme Court to weigh in.