Defence for Bob Menendez casts blame on his wife

As the corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez opened on Wednesday

Nadine Menendez "kept him in the dark", said defence attorney Avi Weitzman during opening statements.

But prosecutor Lara Pomerantz said Mr Menendez, 70, used his wife as a go-between in trading political influence for money, gifts and gold bars.

The trial, in a Manhattan federal court, could stretch to July. Mr Menendez is required to attend each day.

Mr Menendez was the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than five years

He married Nadine Menendez, who was born in Lebanon before moving to the US as a child, in 2020.

She is being tried separately on her own bribery and corruption charges, to which she has pleaded not guilty.

"This was not politics as usual. This was politics for profit. This was a United States senator on the take," she said.

See all Latest News from here