PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The wife of embattled New Jersey U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is battling advanced breast cancer and will undergo a mastectomy, the senator revealed in a statement on Thursday.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, is being treated for Grade 3 breast cancer. The New Jersey Democrat said he was revealing her health crisis at her request after repeated inquiries from the media.
“We are, of course, concerned about the seriousness and advanced stage of the disease,” the senator said in a statement. “She will require follow up surgery and possibly radiation treatment. We hope and pray for the best results.”
Questions about the health of the senator’s wife began circulating after her corruption trial was separated from her husband’s because of an undisclosed medical condition. Her lawyers had requested her trial be delayed.
A judge postponed her trial until at least July. She has pleaded not guilty.
The couple is accused of accepting lavish bribes in exchange for a variety of corrupt favors, including taking actions as a senator that benefited the government of Egypt.
The trial of Bob Menendez got underway earlier this week. He issued the statement about his wife in an email as opening statements were completed and the presentation of evidence began at his trial in Manhattan federal court, with testimony from an FBI agent who led the raid on the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home he shared with his wife.
The agent, Aristotelis Kougemitros, described the June 2022 raid when gold bars and more than $400,000 in cash were discovered by a team of agents at the home. He said the agents also recovered cellphones and jewelry among 52 items seized from the home.
During the trial on Wednesday, his defense lawyer blamed Nadine Menendez for the politician’s legal problems, telling the jury that Bob Menendez wasn’t aware his spouse had taken gifts from a trio of businessmen and didn’t know about cash and gold bars hidden in a closet at their home.
Prosecutors argued Nadine Menendez played a central role in her husband’s corruption but said Bob Menendez hid behind her while using her as a conduit to the businessmen who delivered bribes.
Nadine Menendez’s trial is expected to take place later this summer.