Menendez’s wife seeks trial delay for medical condition

by Lauren Irwin - 04/09/24 8:41 PM ET

FILE - Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., right, and his wife Nadine Arslanian, pose for a photo on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 20, 2022. Arslanian, the then-future wife of Sen. Menendez, killed a man with her car in December 2018 and was sent from the scene without being charged, according to new details that match an auto “accident” that prosecutors cite in their sweeping federal indictment of the pair as a pivotal motivation for one of the senator's alleged bribes. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File) — FILE – Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., right, and his wife Nadine Arslanian, pose for a photo on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 20, 2022. Arslanian, the then-future wife of Sen. Menendez, killed a man with her car in December 2018 and was sent from the scene without being charged, according to new details that match an auto “accident” that prosecutors cite in their sweeping federal indictment of the pair as a pivotal motivation for one of the senator’s alleged bribes. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) wife, Nadine Menendez, is seeking to delay her criminal trial set to begin next month due to a new “serious medical condition.”

Nadine Menendez’s lawyers wrote to U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein asking to delay the trial, which is set to begin on May 6. Stein is overseeing the trial of the married couple and two New Jersey businessmen, who have been charged with participating in bribery schemes.

“Ms. Menendez was recently diagnosed with a serious medical condition that will require a surgical procedure in the next four to six weeks as well as possibly significant follow-up and recovery treatment,” the letter said.

Her lawyers said she is unable to work with them to prepare for the trial in the next several weeks and that she would not be in the “physical or psychological condition to participate” in the trial. They also noted the full extent of her necessary medical treatment is uncertain.

Her legal team asked for a status hearing to be eight weeks from now so Nadine Menendez can “provide the Court with an update on her medical condition and treatment plan and on a feasible timetable for rescheduling her trial date.”

Sen. Menendez, his wife and the two businessmen have all pleaded not guilty to the charges, which allege Menendez agreed to accept hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to enrich the businessmen and the Egyptian government.

Nadine Menendez faces 15 counts, while the senator faces 16 counts. They were indicted last September in light of allegations that they accepted more than $600,000 in bribes, including cash, gold bars, a luxury car and a mortgage on their home. The FBI found nearly $500,000 in cash and more than $100,000 in gold at Menendez’s home in a raid in 2022.

The couple pleaded not guilty in March to a dozen new charges accusing them of obstruction of justice while being investigated.

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