NEW YORK – A judge granted a one week delay in the trial of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez Friday, but the senator was not physically in court. He joined the proceedings by phone.
Defendants Fred Dabies and Wael Hana, two New Jersey businessmen, appeared in court. Their trial will move forward at the same time as the senator’s, now set for May 13.
Menendez’s wife Nadine was notably absent. The judge granted a delay in her trial after attorneys revealed she’s dealing with an unspecified medical condition. Her trial is now set to take place in July.
All four have pleaded not guilty.
Jose Uribe, another businessman, has pleaded guilty, and said he would testify against the other defendants.
What Menendez is accused of
Menendez and his wife are accused of taking bribes from the three businessmen, including gold bars and a convertible Mercedes, in exchange for political favors.
The indictment accuses Menendez and his wife Nadine of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to help the three businessmen, and conspiring to act as a foreign agent for Egypt. Menendez has also been accused of obstructing the corruption investigation.
Menendez’s defense strategy
Newly unsealed court filings indicate the senator may testify his wife “withheld information” from him in certain communications, “or otherwise led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place.”
“We’re looking forward to trial. I’m happy that we’re going forward sooner rather than later, and we’re completely confident we’ll demonstrate his innocence really pretty readily,” attorney Lawrence Lustberg said.