Senator Thomas Libous wants to be able to discuss his health challenges at his upcoming federal trial.

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Bob Joseph/WNBF News [file][/caption]The Binghamton Republican has been accused of making false statements to the FBI. His indictment was announced nearly a year ago. The trial is scheduled to start July 13 in Westchester County.

According to Gannett, an attorney for Libous made a court filing contending it's "impossible" to say whether the senator's cancer battle won't be relevant without knowing what prosecutors plan to bring up during the trial.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara wants the judge not to allow Libous to bring up his health, contending it would only be used to try to gain the sympathy of jurors.

In the court filing, the lawyer representing Libous maintained the senator did not lie during a 2013 interview on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program.

During the live broadcast, Libous was asked by this reporter whether he had been contacted by the FBI. Libous said he had not.

The lawyer contends Libous was responding to whether agents had contacted him in connection with a complaint filed with a state ethics commission.

Read Jon Campbell's full story from Gannett's Politics on the Hudson HERE.

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