Four bribery charges against Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., were dropped in the federal lawsuit against the lawmaker and his Dominican eye doctor friend.

Although four charges were dropped, other bribery and fraud charges remain.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Menendez and Salomon Melgen on conspiracy to commit bribery and honest services wire fraud, violating travel laws and issuing false statements. According to the Justice Department, Menendez and Melgen "knowingly combine, conspire, confederate and agree with each other and others known and unknown" to commit an offense against the U.S.

Menendez's defense team issued more than a dozen motions against the bribery and fraud allegations. The defense claimed the DOJ of misconduct and overstepping their responsibilities.

U.S. District Judge William Walls did not grant most of the defense's motions. The judge agreed to dismiss four charges, but 18 bribery charges remain.

"Many of the motions raise important and novel legal questions that often require review by trial and appellate courts," wrote Menendez defense lawyer Abbe D. Lowell, via NPR. "The government, we, and even the court in this case acknowledged that additional review would occur here no matter how the motions were decided. As we did when issues came up in the grand jury phase of this case, we intend to seek that additional review from the court of appeals on several of the decisions that were announced today."

To provide more time to review appeals of motions, Walls pushed the trial until fall 2016.

Menendez has considered Melgen as "one of his closest personal friends" for decades. The New Jersey senator and Melgen's families have spent holidays, funerals and weddings together and admitted to exchanging personal gifts.

The DOJ's indictment references Melgen's offers and Menendez's acceptance of domestic and international flights on private jets, stay at luxury hotel in Paris, golf outing and "tens of thousands of dollars in contribution to a legal defense fund." In addition, Menendez allegedly accepted Melgen offers to for the New Jersey senator to visit the doctor's villa in Casa de Campo in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

The DOJ also alleged Menendez received "hundreds of thousands of dollars of contributions to entities that benefited Menendez' 2012 Senate campaign, in exchange for specific requested exercises of Menendez's official authority."

Menendez and Melgen have maintained their innocence. Since the DOJ officially announced the charges, Menendez said he has always conducted himself in accordance with the law, adding that the Justice Department does not know the difference between friendship and corruption.

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