Hollywood Sign

Emails show that U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez met with the head of Sony Pictures Entertainment

(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

TRENTON — A top executive at Sony Entertainment felt U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez could be worth getting to know in order to help the company with "market access issues," according to hacked emails made available online.

The emails, obtained by anonymous hackers and published on the website Wikileaks this month, also recommended contributing to Menendez (D-N.J.) if asked or candidates he raised money for.

"Whether or not the Democrats retain control of the Senate, Senator Menendez will likely continue to serve in a senior position on Foreign Relations," wrote Keith Weaver, Sony Entertainment's executive vice president for worldwide government affairs, to CEO Michael Lynton and his executive assistant, David Diamond. "While most of the pending trade agreements are not expected to go anywhere anytime soon (or ever), Senator Menendez can play an important role to help remedy market access issues - either by compelling existing agencies to focus their efforts or by his own direct engagement."

Added Weaver: "For these reasons, I think developing a relationship with him and his staff is important."

The Oct. 7 email was a briefing for Lynton in advance of a scheduled meeting between him and Menendez the next morning, according to a second email.

"Further, Senator Menendez plays (and will continue to play) a key role in Ambassadorships as he presides over the confirmation hearings for the President's nominees," Weaver wrote.

Menendez spokeswoman Tricia Enright confirmed the meeting took place but said she knew no details. Sony did not respond to an email seeking comment.

Democrats lost their majority a month later in the midterm election. Menendez continued to serve as the committee's ranking Democratic member until this month, when he was indicted on 14 corruption counts. He then temporarily stepped down from the leadership post.

Menendez on Wednesday voted against trade deal legislation in committee that the Motion Picture Association of American — which Sony is a member of — supports.

In the email, Weaver noted that Menendez had co-hosted Capitol Hill screening of the Sony's The Monuments Men and led the effort to award the movie's subjects the Congressional Gold Medal.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez leaves after a press conference in the Hilton in Newark about being indicted on federal corruption charges.

He concluded by noting that Menendez "is in all likelihood trying to raise money immediately for his at-risk Democratic colleagues in the Senate who are up this cycle," naming Sens. Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landreiu of Lousiana, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Mark Udall of Colorado.

"Sony Pictures PAC has historically supported Menendez in the past and would recommend doing so in the future upon request," Weaver wrote.

The PAC's filings with the Federal Election Commission show no donations to Democratic candidates between the scheduled meeting with Menendez and the November election. And while Lynton has made more than $375,000 in federal political contributions since 1998, a search for his contributions on Federal Election Commission's website shows none made after May 2014.

The emails were among more than 170,000 published online and indexed by Wikileaks. In a statement last week, Sony called the hack a "malicious criminal act" and criticized Wikileaks for making it available.

"The attackers used the dissemination of stolen information to try to harm SPE and its employees, and now WikiLeaks regrettably is assisting them in that effort. We vehemently disagree with WikiLeaks' assertion that this material belongs in the public domain and will continue to fight for the safety, security, and privacy of our company and its more than 6,000 employee," the statement read.

The names of other New Jersey political figures turn up in the trove.

A Feb. 2014 email exchange among writer/director Stephen Gaghan, Castle Rock Entertainment founder Martin Shafer, Warner Bros. general counsel John Rogovin, and one unidentified person has the subject line "c. christie."

The men discuss scheduling something for the weekend, but never indicate what it is.

"Sat out. Sun pm possible," Rogovin wrote. "There will be indictments ..."

"this is going to get sorta interesting," Gaghan replied.

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who has the closest ties to Hollywood of any New Jersey politician, is not discussed in the emails, with the exception of a fundraising invitation.

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Matt Friedman may be reached at mfriedman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattFriedmanSL. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook. e