Former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez will face sentencing on corruption charges as planned at the end of January, while his wife’s trial has been postponed to February due to health concerns.
U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein in Manhattan rejected Menendez’s request to delay his sentencing until after Nadine Menendez’s trial. His lawyers argued that simultaneous proceedings would create undue emotional stress and potentially influence jurors in his wife’s case. The judge, however, decided to keep Menendez’s sentencing date unchanged while moving Nadine’s trial to February, according to the Associated Press.
Menendez, 70, was convicted on 16 corruption charges, including bribery and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Prosecutors alleged that he used his Senate position to help three businessmen in exchange for gold bars, cash, and a luxury car. Two of these businessmen were also convicted, while a third pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, according to the New York Post.
Nadine Menendez, who is facing similar charges, had her trial postponed due to a breast cancer diagnosis requiring surgery. Her proceedings are now scheduled to begin on February 5, while Bob Menendez’s sentencing will go ahead on January 29.
Menendez’s defense team voiced concerns in a letter to the court, explaining that the overlapping timelines would place significant emotional strain on him. “To ask him to face sentencing during the criminal trial of his wife, who is also in the midst of an ongoing battle against a life-threatening disease, is too much to ask of any man,” wrote his attorney Avi Weitzman.
Despite objections, prosecutors supported moving Nadine Menendez’s trial but insisted that Bob Menendez’s sentencing remain as scheduled. Judge Stein ultimately ruled in favor of this timeline.
Menendez stepped down from the Senate following his conviction, which marked the end of a career already overshadowed by corruption allegations. In 2017, he faced similar charges, which ended in a mistrial. His current case has gained significant attention due to the serious nature of the allegations and the involvement of his wife.
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