Pryor Cashman Partner Sidhardha "Sid" Kamaraju, co-chair of the Regulatory Enforcement + Securities Litigation Practice, spoke with the Wall Street Journal, Law360,andThe Philadelphia Inquirer about the federal indictment against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).

In "Sen. Bob Menendez Beat Corruption Charges Before. Could He Again?," Sid outlines for the WSJ the case that prosecutors are making against Menendez:

Sidhardha Kamaraju, a partner at law firm Pryor Cashman, said prosecutors can use strong circumstantial evidence to show a quid pro quo agreement. The indictment alleges that Menendez and his wife deleted some of the emails and text messages implicating the scheme, which indicates consciousness of guilt, said Kamaraju, a former federal prosecutor.

Prosecutors also cited Menendez's official website, which states that as a senator he cannot compel an agency to act in favor of a constituent, influence private business matters or intervene in criminal matters. Highlighting his website was an effort to show he knew right from wrong, Kamaraju said.

"It undercuts a potential defense that his actions were ordinary business," he said.

In "Gold, Cash And A Car: Gov't Has Edge In 2nd Bribery Case," Sid told Law360 that this indictment differs from the previous corruption charges that led to a hung jury in 2017:

"Here, I think it's a little more brazen," Sidhardha "Sid" Kamaraju, former federal prosecutor and current partner at Pryor Cashman LLP in New York, told Law360 on Friday, noting "stark differences" between the two cases. "If proven, the allegations about gold bars, direct cash and a Mercedes for his wife are much more direct."

He also noted that Menendez might take an approach similar to the one from 2017 for his defense against this latest indictment ("His defense the last time was basically that the government was misconstruing friendly favors as evidence of corruption, and it worked."), but that the government may come at the New Jersey Senator from a different angle:

Kamaraju expects the government to rely on showing how government procedures — such as foreign military sales and financing — typically work compared to Menendez's alleged conduct.

"I think the government is really going to have to focus on showing how these things that the senator is alleged to have done sort of live outside the life of a normal member of Congress," Kamaraju said.

Talking to the Inquirer in "Sen. Bob Menendez beat federal bribery charges before. Here's why this time is 'different from top to bottom'," Sid pointed out that the evidence laid out in the indictment will present challenges for Menendez's defense:

It's easier for a jury to accept that a buddy might give somebody a ride on the plane, or a spot in a vacation home, than it is to say, "It's pretty common for friends to exchange gold bars or hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash."

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Originally published by Wall Street Journal; Law360; The Philadelphia Inquirer .

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