Senator Bob Menendez Points Finger at Wife Nadine in Federal Corruption Trial

Newly unsealed documents show that Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) is likely to use his wife as a weapon in his defense during his federal corruption trial.

In court documents, lawyers for Sen. Menendez asked for the case to be severed because he intended to introduce evidence that could imply his wife Nadine is guilty. In a severing of a case, the co-defendants will be tried separately and in two separate trials rather than as a pair.

Both have pleaded guilty to charges of bribery, obstruction of justice, and extortion. The couple is accused of accepting bribes of hundreds of thousands in cash, gold bars, and Mercedes-Benz for various businessmen and the Egyptian Government.

The documents filed in January were already severing Nadine’s case by the time they came to light Tuesday. However, the documents give a hint as to what evidence might be revealed at trial.

The court documents imply that Democratic Senators will present evidence to show they were unaware of the alleged illegal activities. Lawyers say Menendez could testify regarding communications with his wife, which may exonerate him. However, it may also implicate Nadine who is accused of withholding information from her husband.

The document says that Senator Menendez can testify at trial as part of his defense about communications with his spouse, which will serve to reduce any inferences of guilt on his part.

“Senator Menendez will explain, for example, what he and his wife discussed contemporaneously with their dinners with Egyptian officials (which colored his understanding of the purpose of such dinners); the explanations that Nadine provided for why [co-defendants Wael Hanna and Jose Uribe] had provided her certain monetary items; the reasons why he sent his wife a series of questions that other Senators purportedly intended to ask an Egyptian official; and many more topics.”

The documents said that “They could inculpate Nadine if they show how she withheld information or misled Senator Menendez into believing there was nothing illegal going on.”

The couple received bribes from New Jersey businessmen Wael Haa and Fred Daibes in exchange for Menendez’s influence and power. Both the senator and his spouse are accused of accepting gifts from Jose Uribe who pleaded to bribery in March.

Earlier in April, Nadine Menendez’s attorneys requested to postpone her trial after an “unexpected medical development” arose. She was diagnosed with a “serious medical condition” on Apr. 9, her lawyers said.

The trial of the senator is set to start on May 6 and that of his wife is set for July 8.