Senator Bob Menendez reveals his wife’s cancer diagnosis after pointing the finger at her during his trial

Nadine Mendezaccused in a vast corruption trial alongside her husband, Senator Bob Menendez (Democrat of New Jersey), has breast cancer and will undergo a mastectomy as treatment, her husband revealed Thursday.

The senator announced his wife’s cancer diagnosis in a statement issued in the courtroom where his trial on corruption and bribery charges began this week. Nadine Menendez’s trial had been delayed due to previously undisclosed, but now clear, health problems.

Bob Menendez and his wife seek separate trials on federal charges

“Nadine has grade 3 breast cancer, which will require a mastectomy. We are of course concerned by the severity and advanced stage of the disease. She will need follow-up surgery and possibly radiation,” Menendez said, asking for respect and privacy from his wife. “We hope and pray for the best results.”

The disclosure of Nadine Menendez’s cancer diagnosis is particularly timely, given that her husband’s defense attorneys spent the first week of his trial arguing that she was largely responsible for the lavish gifts the couple received of Egyptian businessmen, allegedly in exchange for political favors. .

Prosecutors said the Menendez couple accepted bribes from businessmen in hopes of taking advantage of the senator’s position as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Those alleged gifts included gold bars, wads of cash and $60,000 in convertible currency for Nadine, according to the indictment.

The senator’s defense attorneys portrayed his wife as a key link between the businessmen and her husband in opening statements Wednesday. The senator and his wife have each pleaded not guilty.

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