Attorney General Jeff Sessions

U.S. Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, NJ 20530-0001

Dear Attorney General Sessions:

As leaders of New Jersey’s broad and diverse communities of faith, it is with grave concern that we join together to denounce the government’s most recent filing in their unjust prosecution of Senator Bob Menendez which falsely blames the Senator’s Constitutionally-protected exercise of religious expression, afforded to all Americans, for the prosecution’s failure to prove any of the allegations it levied against him at trial.

Moments after your deeply disturbing decision to retry this case, the government’s first public action was to demand “safeguards to protect the jury from undue extrajudicial pressures.” Put more simply, our government is objecting to the visible support Senator Menendez received from members of the clergy during the trial.

Our support – which spans across multiple faiths and cultures – is rooted in Senator Menendez’s lifetime of work defending society’s most vulnerable, not just in New Jersey, but across the country and abroad. His unwavering commitment and understanding of the issues important to our communities is why so many of us expressed our steadfast support for him and his family during those trying times.

Whether in our places of worship, our communities, or, when we could, inside the Martin Luther King, Jr. Federal Courthouse in Newark, we were proud to exercise our right to stand side-by-side with Senator Menendez as he has stood by us his entire career.

It thus came as an extraordinary surprise to learn that the Department of Justice filed a motion which called “prayer circles with dressed clergy” an “undue extrajudicial pressure.”  Our country was founded and built upon the freedom of religion. It is clearly expressed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that the Department of Justice and its employees are sworn to uphold and protect.

Let us be very clear: It is quite common in challenging times for people to turn to faith and religion, and it is an affront to all practitioners of faith to suggest “the jurors not be subject to [our] congregation.” After reading the motion, we fear that the Department itself is doing irreparable harm to the notion of justice underpinning our democracy by, at the very least, giving the appearance of being used as a political instrument to silence one of its staunchest critics in order to meet its own political ends.  Further, to infringe on the religious freedoms of one, is to infringe on the religious freedoms of all.

As leaders of New Jersey’s diverse faith communities, we cannot stand silently as one of our most basic rights is threatened.

Respectfully,

Rev. Dr. Ronald L. Owens, New Hope Baptist Church, Metuchen, NJ

Rev. David Ford, St. Matthew Baptist Church, Roselle, NJ and President of the NJ Clergy Coalition for Justice

Rev. Steffie Bartley, New Hope Memorial Baptist Church, Elizabeth, NJ

Rev. Dana Owens, Messiah Baptist Church, East Orange, NJ

Rev. Kenneth D. R. Clayton, St. Luke Baptist Church, Paterson, NJ

Rev. Lousie Scott-Rountree, Good Neighbor Baptist Church, Newark NJ

Rabbi David-Seth Kirshner, Temple Emanu-El, Closter, NJ, President of the NJ Board of Rabbis

Rabbi Avi Richler, Chabad of Gloucester County, Mullica Hill, NJ

Rabbi Larry Sernovitz,Nafshenu, Cherry Hill, NJ

Rev. Dr. Joshua Rodriguez, Vice President, National Latino Evangelical Coalition and Pastor of Cityline Church, Jersey City, NJ

Pastor Carlos Matos, 1ra Puerta de Salvacion Church, Jersey City, NJ

Pastor Federica Trinidad, 2nda Puerta de Salvacion Church, Jersey City, NJ

Pastor Jose Trinidad, 3ra Puerta de Salvacion Church, Jersey City, NJ

Rev. Bolivar Flores Ministerio El Sol Sale Para Todos Internacional, Jersey City, NJ

Rev. Antonio Merino, Bethel Christian Church, Perth Amboy, NJ

Fr. Michael Sorial, St. Anianus Coptic Orthodox Church, Princeton, NJ

Rabbi Randall C. Mark, Shomrei Torah, Wayne, NJ

Rabbi Moshe Herson – Director of Chabad in the State of NJ

Rabbi Mendy Herson – Vice Dean, Rabbinical College of America

Fr. Youssef Halim, St. Mary & St. Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church in Belleville, NJ

Fr. Luke Istafanous St. Mary & St. Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church in Belleville, NJ

Fr. Daniel Hanna, St. Monica & St. Augustine Coptic Orthodox Church, Summit, NJ

Bishop Ronald Jones, Shekinah Glory Ministries, Newark, NJ

Rev. Pablo Pizarro, Lighthouse Assembly of God, Newark, NJ

Elder Pamela Jones, Lighthouse Assembly of God, Newark, NJ

Pastor Gill Brown, Newark, NJ

Rev. Estelle David, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Newark, NJ

Imam Aqeel Mateen, United Muslim Inc., Newark, NJ

Imam Davis Haqq, Nia Masjid and Community Center, Newark, NJ

Pastor L. Rivera, Primera Iglesia De Dios Pentecostal Church, Jersey City, NJ

Pastor Luis Felipe Fernandez, Fuente de Salvacion Chuchon

Pastor Bill Brown, Newark, NJ

Pastor Lewis Collier, Newark, NJ

Rev. Jesus Sevilla, Paterson Latino Pastors Association, Paterson, NJ

Pastor Francisco Martinez, True Word Church, Newark, NJ