Wife of former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez convicted on bribery charges

A jury declared Nadine Menendez-the wife of former New Jersey Democratic senator Bob Menendez-from the 15 charges she faced, including bribery, obstruction of justice and conspiracy to turn her husband into an agent of the Egyptian government. Prosecutors argued that both Nadine and the Democrat leader were "partners in crime" and formally accused them of accepting a luxury car, plus gold bullion and cash in exchange for political favors. The defense argued that there was no evidence that the former Democratic senator's wife was involved in the scheme for which Menendez had previously been convicted.

The Democratic leader, who was one of New Jersey's political figures, was sentenced to 11 years in prison in January after being found guilty on each of 16 counts brought in his corruption trial. A jury found Menendez guilty of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three New Jersey businessmen, who were also convicted. This represented a real scandal in the United Statesas it was the first time in history that an active member of the country's Congress was officially convicted of acting as a foreign agent.

She "accepted all sorts of bribes"

Nadine will be formally sentenced in June, the same month her husband will report to prison to begin his 11-year sentence. She pleaded not guilty to 15 charges, including conspiracy to commit extortion under the guise of official law, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and conspiracy to commit bribery. Legal experts detailed that several of these charges, for which Nadine was indicted, carry a maximum penalty of 20 years behind bars.

"Nadine Menendez and senator Menendez  were partners in crime. Over the span of five years, Nadine Menendez agreed to accept and accepted all sorts of bribes -- including gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show job -- all in exchange for the Senator's corrupt official acts. Together, Nadine Menendez and the Senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the Senator was elected to serve Today's verdict sends the clear message that the power of government officials may not be put up for sale, and that all those who facilitate corruption will be held accountable for their actions," Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky stated after the verdict.

In a statement, the FBI explained that it had found $70,000 in cash in Nadine's safe deposit box and in congressional jackets bearing her husband's name. For their part, federal prosecutors detailed that Nadine introduced military and Egyptian intelligence officials to Menendezin 2018, shortly after their relationship began. Prosecutors also alleged that those introductions helped set up a corrupt deal whereby the couple accepted bribes in exchange for the Democratic leader acting on behalf of the Egyptian government.