⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

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United States of America v. Menendez (Nadine Menendez) — 2d Cir. (Sep 24, 2026)

No. 25-2322 Argued September 24, 2026 Published October 4, 2026

The Second Circuit hears Nadine Menendez's appeal from her federal corruption conviction. A jury found that she participated in a scheme with her husband, then a United States senator, in which cash, gold and a luxury car were exchanged for his political influence. The scheme included attempts to interfere with criminal investigations and actions benefiting Egypt. Her trial was held separately from her co-defendants' and ended in conviction. This recording focuses on her claim that she lost the lawyer of her choice. Before trial, her lawyer David Schertler told prosecutors that car and mortgage payments were loans, not bribes. Prosecutors said that he might need to testify; after the parties failed to agree on a substitute for his testimony, he withdrew. He was never called as a trial witness. The district court rejected her request for a new trial, concluding that conflicts of interest remained. Sarah Krissoff of Cozen O'Connor will argue that prosecutors should have explicitly updated Menendez and the court, and that a fresh conflict hearing was needed.

United States of America v. Menendez (Nadine Menendez) (No. 25-2322) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, argued September 24, 2026.

Sources
Argument audio — Second Circuit (court original):https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/audio/25-2322.mp3
Argument date and case listing — Second Circuit:https://ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/oral_arguments.html
Case facts and counsel-conflict ruling — district court, July 31, 2025 (actual judicial opinion reproduced by FindLaw):https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-dis-crt-sd-new-yor/117564521.html
Defense request for acquittal or new trial — filed June 6, 2025, document 868 (public court-filing PDF):https://newjerseymonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/6-6-25-Menendez-motion-for-acquittal.pdf
Conviction background and government counsel — U.S. Attorney’s Office, September 11, 2025:https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/nadine-menendez-sentenced-54-months-prison-bribery-foreign-agent-and-obstruction
Advocate affiliation — Sarah Krissoff, Cozen O’Connor:https://www.cozen.com/people/bios/krissoff-sarah
Counsel-of-choice structural error — Gonzalez-Lopez, Supreme Court majority, 2006 (Cornell LII reproduction):https://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/05-352.ZO.html
Independent counsel-of-choice analysis — Gonzalez-Lopez, Eighth Circuit, 2005 (opinion reproduced by OpenJurist):https://openjurist.org/399/f3d/924/united-states-v-gonzalez-lopez
Unsworn-witness doctrine — Locascio, Second Circuit, 1993 (opinion reproduced by OpenJurist):https://openjurist.org/6/f3d/924/united-states-v-locascio
Independent application of lawyer-witness conflict rules — Kliti, Second Circuit, 1998 (opinion reproduced by OpenJurist):https://openjurist.org/156/f3d/150

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