NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife will be tried separately on charges that they participated in a bribery scheme, a federal judge ruled Thursday, agreeing to sever and delay Nadine Menendez’s trial after her lawyers had argued that she needs treatment for a serious medical condition.
The New Jersey Democrat’s trial remains scheduled for May 6 in Manhattan federal court, while the trial of Nadine Menedez was provisionally postponed until July.
“This trial will proceed without Ms. Menendez,” Judge Sidney H. Stein said. “The government will have to deal with this case twice.”
Nadine Menendez’s attorneys made the case in a letter to Stein this week, saying she was recently diagnosed with an unspecified condition that will require surgery in the next four to six weeks. They said in court on Thursday that she needs more time for testing to understand the nature of the condition.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, argued that the entire trial should simply be postponed, arguing that separating Nadine Menendez’s trial from that of her husband would result in “serious inefficiency and unfairness” that would require the recall of dozens of witnesses.
Stein also denied requests Thursday to dismiss the charges outright and transfer the case to New Jersey.
The Menendezes and two businessmen have pleaded not guilty to charges that they participated in a bribery scheme in which prosecutors say cash and gold bars were given to the couple in exchange for the senator providing political favors. Bob Menendez chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee until he resigned from his position in September over the allegations.
A third businessman, Jose Uribe, has pleaded guilty to bribery charges and agreed to testify against the others at trial. Uribe said he conspired with Nadine Menendez and others to give her a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for access to her husband’s power and influence.
Prosecutors allege that in exchange for the bribes, Menendez helped one of the businessmen secure a lucrative meat certification deal with Egypt. Menendez helped another employee get a deal with a Qatari investment fund, an indictment alleges.