Sen. Menendez may throw his wife under the bus in bribery scandal: report

Court filings obtained by Politico Tuesday indicate that US Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) may consider blaming his alleged bribery scheme on his wife, Nadine Menendez.

The Menendez's were indicted last year on charges related to the fact they, according to the US Department of Justice, allegedly "accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes" in exchange for the senator's "agreement to use his official position to protect and enrich them and to benefit the Government of Egypt."

The DOJ also noted:

NADINE MENENDEZ began dating MENENDEZ in February 2018, they became engaged in October 2019, and they married in October 2020. Shortly after they began dating in 2018, NADINE MENENDEZ introduced MENENDEZ to her long-time friend WAEL HANA, who is originally from Egypt, lived in New Jersey, and maintained close connections with Egyptian officials. HANA was also business associates with FRED DAIBES, a New Jersey real estate developer and long-time donor to MENENDEZ, and JOSE URIBE, who worked in the New Jersey insurance and trucking business.

READ MORE: 'Bribe payments': Sen. Bob Menendez indicted again — this time for obstruction of justice

The Democrat — who's considering running for reelection as an Independent — and his wife both plead not guilty.

Per Politico, "The senator’s legal team plans to try to show the 'absence of any improper intent on Senator Menendez’s part' by 'demonstrating the ways'" in which his wife, Nadine Menendez, 'withheld information from Sen. Menendez or otherwise led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place.'"

The report also notes, "Previously, Menendez’s legal team said having this particular defense strategy public 'threatens to bias the jury pool and, consequently, to interfere with Senator Menendez’s and his wife’s right to a fair trial.”

Politico reports "a reporter at NBC New York and then a coalition of media organizations, including POLITICO, fought to make those sentences public."

READ MORE: 'Legal bills are expensive': Senate Dem indicted for bribery mulls independent reelection run

The court documents were unsealed Tuesday following federal Judge Sidney Stein's order.

Politico's full report is here.