**Bob Menendez Seeks New Trial Following Jury Error in Bribery Case**

In New York, ex-Senator Bob Menendez has petitioned a judge for a retrial after being convicted of bribery. Lawyers representing the former New Jersey Democrat argue that previously undisclosed errors by prosecutors have compromised the fairness of the original trial, which led to Menendez's resignation in August.

Menendez, who is 70 years old, was found guilty in July of 16 charges, including allegations that he accepted bribes in exchange for supporting military aid to Egypt. His legal team made the request for a new trial in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, citing the prosecutors' recent disclosure that improper evidence was inadvertently included on a computer used by jurors during deliberations.

Prosecutors had admitted in a letter to Judge Sidney H. Stein that certain trial exhibits contained factual information that should have been excluded as per the judge’s orders to comply with the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause. Despite this mistake, the prosecution maintained that it was unlikely any jurors saw the incorrect versions of the exhibits and claimed the documents were of secondary relevance, reiterating that considerable evidence was properly admitted.

However, Menendez's lawyers refute this claim, stating that the erroneous exhibits were crucial as they included the only evidence linking Menendez to the military aid to Egypt. They emphasized that the error undermined the central charge against their client.

Furthermore, the defense team denounced the prosecution's attempt to blame them for the oversight, noting the limited time they had to review nearly 3,000 exhibits on the laptop. They argued it was unreasonable to expect them to catch the mislabeled evidence within such a short time frame and labeled the prosecutor's stance as "factually and legally outrageous."

Menendez is awaiting his sentencing, which is scheduled for January 29. As the debate continues, the call for a new trial seeks to address what Menendez’s legal team contends has been a serious breach of justice.