Sen. Bob Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat with a history of controversy facing a looming criminal trial, announced Thursday that his wife Nadine has been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer and will undergo a mastectomy.
The revelation came as federal prosecutors presented their first evidence in Menendez’s bribery trial in New York, including photos of 13 gold bars and over $480,000 in cash seized from the couple’s home.
“We are, of course, concerned about the seriousness and advanced stage of the disease,” Menendez said in a statement. “She will require follow up surgery and possibly radiation treatment. We hope and pray for the best results.”
Menendez pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, fraud, extortion, and more. Prosecutors said that Menendez accepted bribes to influence state and federal prosecutors to the benefit of foreign associates.
Menendez also used his position as the leader of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help the Egyptian government with U.S. aid and helped a foreign businessman from Qatar get government contracts, prosecutors said.
The FBI raid on Menendez’s home, as described by agent Aristotelis Kougemitros in court, uncovered a stash of cash and gold that prosecutors say is clear evidence of his illegal foreign dealings. Menendez’s lawyer contends that the senator was unaware of these items hidden in his home, and have tried to shift the blame on his wife.
Nadine Menendez, who married the senator in 2020, is also charged in the bribery scheme. Her own trial was postponed to July after her diagnosis. Mendenez’s lawyers said she “kept him in the dark” regarding financial matters.
Menendez has also faced credible accusations of corruption in the past. In 2015, he was indicted on bribery charges in a separate case, but the trial ended in a hung jury.
While he avoided conviction, the Senate Ethics Committee “severely admonished” him for accepting improper gifts.
As his latest trial begins, Menendez has faced widespread calls to resign but has refused.
Jurors were walked through the prosecutors’ evidence to start the trial. According to NewsNation, FBI agent Aristotelis Kougemitros testified for the prosecution first.
The gold bars were found in a safe and on the floor nearby inside locked closets in a bedroom, [Aristotelis Kougemitros] said. Much of the cash was found stuffed in jacket pockets, in two pairs of boots and on a shelf in the home’s basement, he said.
One pair of Timberland boots contained $14,500 in cash nearly evenly divided while another set of boots also had cash stuffed in each boot, he said.
A black jacket, which was among four jackets found to contain cash, had $21,000 in envelopes in its pockets, Kougemitros said. The other jackets, he added, had $4,300, $6,000 and $8,000.
On a shelf nearby, he said, a plastic bag contained $100,000, while another bag held $95,000.
Menendez’s trial is expected to last up to two months.