U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez may be poised to blame his wife during his upcoming federal corruption trial.

According to newly unsealed documents in the case, Menendez (D-NJ) could point the finger at his spouse, Nadine Menendez, for bribery charges the couple faces by claiming she hid information from him that led him to believe they weren’t doing anything illegal.

The couple is accused of accepting cash, gold bars and other bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s political influence.

According to an unredacted court filing by the senator’s legal team, “While these explanations … will tend to exonerate Senator Menendez by demonstrating the absence of any improper intent on Senator Menendez’s part, they may inculpate Nadine by demonstrating how she withheld information from Senator Menendez or otherwise led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place.”

Legal experts say that could be a tactic to protect the senator because of a rule known as spousal privilege. In an interview with NJ Spotlight News, Brian Whisler, an attorney and former federal prosecutor, said, “It’s just significantly challenging, I think, for a juror to look at this and conclude that the spouse, the nonpolitical spouse in this case, was the mastermind or the driver of the scheme,” Whisler said.