Senator Bob Menendez might try to shift blame onto his spouse in his upcoming bribery trial in Could, as revealed in court docket paperwork unsealed on Tuesday. In line with the unsealed passages, Menendez’s attorneys plan to argue that he was unaware of any unlawful actions associated to his spouse’s dealings with New Jersey businessmen. They counsel that Menendez might testify about exculpatory communications along with his spouse, Nadine, to display his lack of intent to commit any crimes. The attorneys additionally indicated that they might must argue at trial that any felony actions had been carried out by others, together with his spouse, moderately than the senator himself.
The attorneys for Menendez initially sought to have the trials of the senator and his spouse severed, however this movement was denied. Nonetheless, the trials have since been allowed to proceed individually after it was revealed that Nadine Menendez requires surgical procedure within the subsequent six weeks, inflicting a delay in her trial till a minimum of July. The couple, together with two businessmen, have pleaded not responsible to expenses of taking part in a bribery scheme the place money and gold bars had been allegedly exchanged for political favors by the senator. Menendez resigned from his place as chair of the Senate International Relations Committee in September because of the allegations.
A 3rd businessman, Jose Uribe, has already pleaded responsible to bribery expenses and agreed to testify in opposition to the others at trial. Uribe claimed that he conspired with Nadine Menendez and others to supply her with a Mercedes-Benz in return for entry to her husband’s energy and affect. The indictment in opposition to the Menendezes alleges that they accepted bribes to assist the businessmen safe profitable offers, together with a meat-certification take care of Egypt and a take care of a Qatari funding fund. The unsealed passages within the court docket submitting had been made public after media organizations, together with NBCUniversal Media and The Related Press, argued that the general public’s proper to transparency outweighed the issues of Menendez’s attorneys.
The case in opposition to Senator Menendez and his spouse highlights the advanced authorized technique being crafted by the protection crew as they put together for the upcoming trial. By doubtlessly shifting blame onto his spouse, Menendez could also be looking for to current himself as a sufferer of her actions moderately than a keen participant in any felony exercise. The delay in Nadine Menendez’s trial as a consequence of her medical situation provides one other layer of complexity to the authorized proceedings, as the 2 trials at the moment are set to proceed individually. The involvement of a cooperating witness like Jose Uribe, who has already admitted to his function within the bribery scheme, may additionally affect the end result of the trials and doubtlessly present beneficial testimony in opposition to the defendants.