Newark, New Jersey – Newly unsealed court documents reveal that Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) may potentially shift blame onto his wife, Nadine Menendez, for withholding information in a case that resulted in federal bribery charges against him.
The senator’s legal team stated in recently uncovered passages that their strategy will focus on proving Menendez’s lack of improper intent by highlighting instances where his wife either withheld crucial information from him or misled him to believe that his actions were not unlawful.
Initially charged in September, Menendez, his wife Nadine, and two associates were alleged to have engaged in a scheme involving gold bars, stacks of cash, and attempts to exploit the senator’s powerful position to clandestinely benefit the Egyptian government.
Prosecutors later added charges of extortion and obstruction of justice in March, asserting that the Menendez couple accepted bribes – including cash, gold, and a luxury car – in exchange for the senator leveraging his influence to serve the interests of the Egyptian and Qatari governments.
Menendez’s trial is scheduled to commence on May 6 at a federal court in Manhattan, while Nadine Menendez’s trial is expected to begin later this summer.
Legal representatives for Nadine Menendez have yet to respond to requests for comment on the matter. Among the alleged bribes detailed by prosecutors is a new Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible purportedly gifted to Nadine while she was in the early stages of dating the senator.
Prosecutors claim that the luxury vehicle was provided to Nadine by a business associate of one of her friends in exchange for Menendez’s alleged efforts to disrupt ongoing criminal proceedings concerning individuals closely associated with that business contact.
The judge ruled last week that Bob Menendez and Nadine Menendez will be tried separately in the bribery case. The defense for the Menendez couple had previously attempted to keep certain strategies under seal to prevent influencing potential jurors, but after media organizations sought their disclosure, the court ordered the release of those statements on Tuesday.