The May 6 bribery trial for Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife, Nadine, may be postponed for months, after Nadine Menendez requested a delay to address a medical condition.
Nadine Menendez’s attorneys said in a letter to the judge in the case that she is suffering from 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.”
In a court filing, the government said it doesn’t object to the request and suggested the trial take place in July or August instead.
The judge in the federal case in New York has yet to approve any delay. The government and Nadine Menendez’s attorneys requested a status hearing in about eight weeks, in June, to reevaluate the timing of the trial, which was originally to begin in early May.
Sen. Menendez, his wife and three New Jersey businessman have been charged in a bribery scheme that alleges Menendez and his wife accepted cash, gold bars and other gifts in return for business and legal favors. The two stand accused of conspiring to use the senator’s power as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit the Egyptian and Qatari governments, and helping the businessmen who have been charged with them.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty.
DOJ
Menendez also stands accused of working as an unregistered foreign agent. Menendez and his wife also face obstruction of justice and conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice charges.
Menendez has resisted calls to resign from the U.S. Senate, despite calls from some in his own party, like Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania.
Menendez, 70, has served in the Senate since 2006.
— Rob Legare contributed to this report
