Nadine Menendez, the wife of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez who is facing charges along with her husband in a federal bribery case, is battling Grade 3 breast cancer, the senator revealed Thursday.
Nadine Menendez, 57, will also have to undergo a mastectomy, the senator said in a statement.
“As a result of constant press inquiries and reporters following my wife, she has asked me to disclose her medical condition,” the statement began.
“We are of course, concerned about the seriousness and advanced stage of the disease,” he continued.
Nadine Menendez, wife of Senator Robert Menendez, and Abbe Lowell, attorney for Senator Robert Menendez, left, exit federal court in New York, Oct. 2, 2023.
Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE
Bob Menendez said his wife will require “follow-up surgery and possibly radiation treatment.” He didn’t include other details about her condition.
“We hope and pray for the best results,” he added. “We ask the press and the public to give her the time, space and privacy to deal with this challenging health condition as she undergoes surgery and recovery.”
A federal grand jury in New York returned a sweeping indictment against Bob Menendez in September 2023 that accused him and his wife of having a corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen.
The New Jersey Democratic senator is accused of accepting cash, gold bars, luxury wristwatches and other perks from New Jersey businessmen in exchange for official favors to benefit the businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Bob Menendez, 70, has denied all wrongdoing and called the prosecution “overzealous.”
Senator Bob Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and his wife Nadine Arslanian, arrive at the US District Court, Southern District of New York, in New York City on Sept. 27, 2023.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images, FILE
Representatives for the senator and his wife previously said she had an undisclosed medical condition that prevented her from being tried along with Bob Menendez, whose trial began Wednesday.
Nadine Menendez is awaiting a July 8 federal trial. An attorney representing her previously told ABC News that she “denies any wrongdoing and will vigorously defend against these allegations in court.”
Bob Menendez, who was hit with more federal indictments in October 2023 and January, respectively, announced in March he would not seek another term as a Democrat, but he left open the possibility of running in November as an independent.
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Another superseding indictment filed in March charged the senator and his wife with new counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice related to their alleged attempts to cover up the bribe payments when the couple learned of the federal investigation in 2022.
During opening arguments in his trial on Wednesday, Bob Menendez’s attorney Avi Weitzman argued the senator wasn’t aware of his wife’s dealings.
“The gold bars were found in a closet that is a locked closet. It is Nadine’s closet,” Weitzman said. “He did not know of the gold bars that existed in that closet.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky contributed to this report.
