The trial of Senator Robert Menendez was paused on Thursday after one of the senator’s co-defendants, Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer, tested positive for Covid-19, The New York Times reports. But, given revised federal Covid-19 guidelines, the pause may be brief. It was “the expectation and the hope of the court” that the trial could resume Monday, said Judge Sidney H. Stein, who has overseen nearly five weeks of trial proceedings in the case. (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends that people isolate themselves; they only must be improving and be fever-free for at least 24 hours without the aid of medication.)
Daibes is part of a sprawling bribery conspiracy case in which prosecutors say Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted gold, cash and a luxury car in exchange for the senator’s agreeing to dispense political favors at home and abroad. All four defendants have pleaded not guilty.
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