Court papers show Sen. Bob Menendez may testify his wife kept him in the dark, unaware of any crimes

NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez may seek exoneration at his May bribery trial by blaming his wife, saying she kept him in the dark about anything that could be illegal about her dealings with New Jersey businessmen, according to court papers unsealed Tuesday.

Several sentences in a January court filing by lawyers for the Democrat were unsealed in Manhattan federal court after some news organizations insisted that public disclosure was required. Menendez’s lawyers had redacted the documents, claiming that the sentences revealed trial strategy that could bias the jury pool.

According to the passages that were unsealed, Menendez plans to testify about what he believes were exculpatory communications with his wife, Nadine, if he decides to take the witness stand in his defense.

“While these explanations, and the marital communications on which they rely, 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 the ways in which she withheld information from Senator Menendez or otherwise led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place,” the lawyers wrote.

As they sought to sever the trials of the senator and his wife, the lawyers said they planned to assert at trial that Sen. Menendez lacked the knowledge necessary to commit a crime and did not agree to any of the conspiracies outlined in the indictment against him.

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