U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is trailed by reporters after departing the Senate Democratic Caucus, following his recent arraignment on corruption charges, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, September 28, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
A federal judge on Monday scheduled the trial of Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine on bribery and corruption charges to begin May 6, 2024.
The couple is accused of having “accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for Senator Menendez using his power and influence to protect and to enrich” three New Jersey business associates, according to U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York, who brought the charges.
“Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job [for Nadine], a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,” the federal indictment alleges.
Menendez, his wife, and the trio of businessmen will stand trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Menendez insists he is innocent, and has refused calls by more than half of the Democratic Senate caucus that he resign. He has accused prosecutors of twisting “the normal work of a congressional office,” and claims the allegations are an attack on his wife “for the longstanding friendships she had.”
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