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A judge has acquitted U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and co-defendant Salomon Melgen on seven of the 18 counts they were tried on last year, just days after the government announced its intent to try the duo after the jury deadlocked.

The judge, William Walls, also announced he will not preside over the retrial.

The charges Walls dismissed involved Menendez's alleged advocacy with top federal officials for Melgen in an $8.9 million Medicare billing dispute and a port security contract dispute in the Dominican Republic. Prosecutors alleged Menendez helped Melgen in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions.

Four of the acquitted counts applied just to Menendez, who will now face nine counts, while three applied to Melgen, who will face eight. Melgen also faces decades in prison for a Medicare fraud conviction.

"A rational juror could not find that Menendez and Melgen were aware of the terms of the alleged quid quo," Walls wrote in his opinion.

Walls left in place charges that Melgen allegedly provided Menendez with private jet flights and lavish vacations in exchange for political favors. Walls also left in place what is widely regarded as the toughest charge for Menendez to beat: That he purposefully filed false financial disclosure statements that left off Melgen's gifts.

The acquittal on the seven counts could substantially shorten Menendez and Melgen's retrial. The last trial ran two and a half months. At the end, juror Ed Norris said 10 of the 12 jurors wanted to acquit the senator.

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