United States Attorney Damian Williams said in the legal filing to Judge Sidney Stein that his office “takes seriously” Nadine Menendez’s health issues and her request. Williams said the best way to proceed is by delaying the trial, set to start on May 6, further into the summer.
Background: Prosecutors want to try Bob and Nadine Menendez together, along with three fellow defendants, because the trial is expected to be lengthy and will involve calling dozens of witnesses, “including at least one non-law enforcement government official stationed outside of the United States and many lay witnesses who do not live in New York, and certain of whom have expressed a concern about testifying.”
Nadine Menendez did not say what her “serious medical condition” was in public legal filings, but the prosecutors said a sealed document her attorneys filed “indicates that there is likely to be substantially more information about her medical condition and its implications for her participation in this case” by early June.
What’s next: The prosecutors suggested delaying the trial until July or August but asked the judge to keep in place many of the current deadlines for making motions and exchanging information ahead of a trial.
Bob Menendez is accused by federal prosecutors of using his office to help foreign governments and New Jersey businesspeople in exchange for cash, gold bars and a luxury vehicle. Nadine Menendez also allegedly received home mortgage payments and a low- or no-show job in exchange for favors arranged by her husband. All the defendants in the case have pleaded not guilty.
