Indicted Dem Senator Appears Likely to Blame His Wife During Trial, Court Documents Show
Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey could end up blaming federal charges he is facing on his wife, according to a report.
The 70-year-old is staring down a potentially lengthy prison sentence and will be tried for allegedly acting as a foreign agent for the Egyptian government.
Federal prosecutors allege the New Jersey Democrat and his wife lived lavishly through cash, cars and precious metals they were paid by three local businessmen authorities said were part of the scheme.
CBS News reported on Wednesday the senator could end up banking a defense strategy by blaming his legal troubles on his wife.
Citing a partially redacted legal filing from Menendez’s legal team, the network reported the senator could tell a court about “the ways in which [Nadine] withheld information” from him or how she “otherwise led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place.”
Both the senator and his wife have pleaded not guilty to corruption and obstruction charges.
CBS News reported the couple will be tried separately, with the senator’s trial beginning in early May.
Nadine Menendez is expected to go to trial in July.
The long-serving senator was charged last September with corruption after it was alleged he and his wife had accepted bribes from people with ties to the Egyptian government.
Others charged in the scheme alleged the senator and his wife were paid a fortune while Menendez provided Egypt with sensitive U.S. government information.
During a search of their New Jersey home, FBI agents allegedly found almost $500,000 worth of cash and gold stuffed into closets and other areas.
Menendez was previously charged with corruption in 2016, but beat the case when the jury could not reach a verdict two years later, the Associated Press reported.
In 2012, the senator was implicated in a prostitution sting in the Dominican Republic, but no criminal charges came of allegations he had sexual contact with women for money, The Daily Caller reported.
The outlet echoed claims from two women who said Menendez promised them $500 each for “sex acts.”
They claimed that when it came time for him to pay, the senator only gave them $100 apiece.
He denied the accusations.
Menendez has refused to resign over the most recent scandal, but he did step down as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee once he was indicted.
He also announced last month that he would not seek another term in office.
Menendez was first elected to represent New Jersey in the Senate in 2006.
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