Nadine Menendez, the wife of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is undergoing treatment for breast cancer and plans to have a mastectomy, according to a press release sent out while the senator was in court on Thursday.
The New Jersey senator appeared at the Federal District Court in Manhattan on Thursday where he is on trial on charges revolving around an alleged corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen and the Egyptian government.
“Nadine is suffering from Grade 3 breast cancer, which will require her to have mastectomy surgery,” Menendez said in a statement. “We are, of course, concerned about the seriousness and advanced stage of the disease.”
“She will require follow up surgery and possibly radiation treatment. We hope and pray for the best results,” he added.
Menendez, his wife, and three businessmen were indicted last fall on corruption charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York alleged that Menendez accepted bribes in exchange for using his influence as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit the Egyptian government.
The bribes included hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars, mortgage payments, a luxury vehicle, and more.
His wife, Nadine, was also charged and has been granted a separate trial in July. She was slated to stand trial with him initially, but was granted a delay after her lawyers disclosed to the court she was dealing with a medical condition that required surgery.
The new information about the Senator’s wife comes during his first week on trial. The senator’s lawyers claim in an opening statement, that Nadine Menendez withheld information from the senator, causing him to believe that there was nothing unlawful going on and that she is to blame for the gold bars and other bribes prosecutors claim he was involved in.
Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the charges they face. The senator is up for reelection but has chosen to run as an independent if he is exonerated.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has continuously reiterated his call for Menedez to be expelled from the Senate, expressed sympathy for his wife’s diagnosis, while also condemning the New Jersey senator’s legal strategy of throwing his “wife under the bus,” on Thursday.
“I sincerely hope that they have a full, complete recovery. I’ve had members of my family touched by cancer, and it’s terrible, it’s awful,” Fetterman said. “I can’t imagine anybody in his legal circumstance to think that throwing your wife under the bus is ever good. She is sick with cancer.”
“I can’t really think that’s a good PR move. I don’t even see the legal upside on that,” Fetterman added.
Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.
