THE MENENDEZ TRIAL: A Senate Staffer’s ‘Friendship Exception’ Confession
NEWARK – A Senate staffer who helped prepare yearly financial disclosure forms testified this afternoon that he had never read the instructions all the way through, and was under the impression there was a “friendship exception” which made the gifts Sen. Bob Menendez accepted from his friend Dr. Salomon Melgen exempt from reporting.
Admittedly nervous but sticking to his story, a hapless Kelly held on through testimony and an awkward cross-examination. Though Kelly worked on Menendez’s disclosures and hand-delivered a copy to the Senate Ethics Committee each year, Kelly admitted to doing little more than skimming the 18 pages of disclosure requirements.
Department of Justice prosecutor Monique Abrishami took Kelly through the rules identifying 11 separate types of gifts exempt from reporting, apparently hoping Kelly would admit flights and vacations with Melgen were not included. But Kelly was under the impression that number 11 – “Gifts of personal hospitality on the donor’s personal or family premises” – gave Menendez a loophole.
“This was my understanding of the friendship exception at the time,” Kelly said.
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