Nadine Menendez stood beside her defense attorney after a Manhattan jury on Monday convicted her on all 15 counts of bribery, fraud conspiracy and corruption for taking gold bars, bags of cash, a Mercedes-Benz and more in return for selling the political influence of her husband, disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez.
“I’m devastated by the verdict. We fought hard,” Menendez’s lawyer Barry Coburn said.
But prosecutors presented a slam-dunk case, said former federal prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni. “The government outlined evidence I thought was damning and overwhelming, and especially for Nadine … because she was kind of on the tip of the spear, the facilitator,” he said.
Reams of evidence presented by prosecutors included serial numbers on gold bars and hundred-dollar bills, texts, emails, and photos of the Menendezes dining lavishly with foreign officials and co-conspirators — three New Jersey businessmen — who bought the senator’s cooperation to kill criminal cases in New Jersey, boost U.S. military aid to Egypt, and curry favor with Qatar.
Following their initial indictment, Bob and Nadine Menendez would arrive at court together. But he was tried and convicted separately after treatment for breast cancer postponed his wife’s day in court. Asked why the former senator never showed up at his wife’s trial, her lawyer answered, “No comment.”
Nadine Menendez said nothing at the microphone but later released a statement saying, “This was an unjust, political prosecution. I was never going to get a fair trial because of the notoriety of my husband’s trial. President Trump is right about the weaponization of the SDNY and the Justice Department. I am innocent and look forward to a successful appeal.” That echoes her husband’s angry accusations and shout-outs to Trump after Judge Sidney Stein sentenced the former senator to 11 years in prison.
The defendants in the corruption case all plan appeals. Former Sen. Menendez reports for prison on June 6. Nadine Menendez is scheduled to be sentenced on June 12.
