Sen. Bob Menendez, the longtime Democratic Party leader from New Jersey, is heading to trial over allegations of bribery, and according to court documents revealed earlier this week, the senator is planning to blame the scandal on his ailing wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez.

Now, Arslanian Menendez is running out of options… and according to a report from the New York Post, she’s crying to cronies, including a reality T.V. star.

Kim De Paola, former cast member of The Real Housewives of New Jersey, told the outlet, “She has said that she thinks she’s going to jail.”

“Everyone despises Menendez,” De Paola added. “And any man who throws his wife under the bus does not deserve any respect. In New Jersey, men will stand by their women. Like he didn’t know what was going on! To throw a woman under the bus like that is disgusting.”

Earlier this week, lawyers for Menendez indicated in a court filing that he may seek exoneration at trial by claiming that he lacked criminal intent since his wife didn’t disclose anything illegal to him about her dealings with New Jersey businessmen.

Arslanian Menendez will need to wait until at least July to start her trial. She’s planning to undergo major surgery within the next six weeks, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, the start of Sen. Menendez’s bribery trial was set for May 13, as of Friday.

Since Arslanian Menendez saw her trial severed from her husband’s, she’s proceeding without his well-funded team of defense attorneys.

U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein changed the senator’s trial date from May 6 to May 13 the start of jury selection during a pretrial hearing in Manhattan. Menendez was allowed to participate in the conference by telephone after his lawyers said a late night in the U.S. Senate on Thursday made it impossible for him to attend the Friday morning hearing.

Menendez and two New Jersey businessmen have pleaded not guilty to charges that cash, gold bars and a luxury car were given to Menendez and his wife since 2017 in return for the Democratic senator carrying out political favors.

A third businessman, Jose Uribe, has pleaded guilty to bribery charges and agreed to testify against the others at trial.

 

Read more: Bob Menendez made an eyebrow-raising defense Tuesday

 

The Horn editorial team and the Associated Press contributed to this article.