Sen Bob Menendez slammed after he snaps at reporter to defend wife Nadine citing her cancer diagnosis

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, NEW JERSEY: Embattled New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, who recently placed blame on his wife during an ongoing high-stakes bribery trial, made a fervent defense of her on Friday, May 17, upon arriving at their home in Englewood Cliffs.

Menendez, who was driven home from court in a blue Honda Civic, was reportedly seen carrying two white plastic bags and two notebooks as he entered the house.

The presence of his wife, Nadine Arslanian, inside the home at that moment was not confirmed.

Menendez snaps at reporter

“Don’t be such a bloodsucker! She has cancer,” Menendez snapped at a New York Post reporter who had approached him.

This followed closely on the heels of his lawyer’s statements in court two days earlier, where the senator’s legal team painted Arslanian as the primary actor behind the stashed gold bars found in their home.

During the trial in Manhattan federal court, Menendez's attorney, Avi Weitzman, argued that the senator had no knowledge of the gold bars, asserting they were hidden away by his "dazzling, tall" wife without his knowledge.

“Where were the gold bars found? The gold bars were found in a locked closet. It is Nadine’s closet,” Weitzman told jurors during his opening statements.

He emphasized that the closet, filled with Nadine’s clothes, was solely her domain. “The senator did not know the gold bars were there,” he added. “[Nadine] kept Bob sidelined. Nadine had these relationships long before she met Bob.”

Prosecutors allege that the 13 gold bars worth over $150,000, nearly $500,000 in cash, and a Mercedes convertible that the feds recovered from their home were the proceeds of a corrupt scheme.

They argue that Menendez wielded his political influence to benefit three New Jersey businessmen and the governments of Qatar and Egypt in exchange for these lavish gifts.

Assistant US Attorney Lara Pomerantz delivered a scathing opening statement, accusing Menendez of prioritizing personal gain over his public duties.

“This case is about a public official who put greed first. Who put his power up for sale,” Pomerantz declared. “This was not politics as usual. This was politics for profit.”

She further asserted that Menendez could be bought with gold bars. “He was powerful. He was also corrupt. And what was his price? Gold bars. The scheme filled his pockets, it filled his wife’s pockets, and it fed their greed,” she added.

Pomerantz accused Menendez of using his wife as an intermediary to avoid leaving a trail of written communications. “He was careful not to send too many texts,” she told the jury. “He used Nadine as his go-between to deliver messages to and from the people paying bribes.”

In contrast, Weitzman vigorously defended Menendez, portraying him as a dedicated public servant engaged in diplomacy. He described Nadine Arslanian as a "beautiful, tall, international woman" with a cultural tradition of valuing gold, suggesting that the gold bars were family heirlooms.

“It’s cultural. They like to give gold and other precious metals as gifts,” he said, adding, “The evidence will show that Nadine’s family had a lot of gold.”

This trial marks the second time in less than a decade that the senior senator from New Jersey faces federal corruption and bribery charges. In 2017, Menendez narrowly escaped conviction after his trial ended with a hung jury.

Menendez, who is currently free on $100,000 bail, stands trial alongside New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Daibes. Prosecutors claim that Menendez assisted these co-defendants in advancing their interests in exchange for wealth and gifts. All parties have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A third businessman involved in the alleged scheme, Uribe, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with federal authorities. Meanwhile, Arslanian, who also faces bribery charges, maintains her innocence and will be tried separately, the Post reported.

Menendez slammed following latest outburst

Menendez’s defense of his wife sparked a flurry of reactions on social media, with many condemning the senator's behavior.

“The same wife he flagrantly cheated on with young women down in the Dominican Republic?” one alleged on X (formerly Twitter).

Another speculated, “She’s going to claim she didn’t understand the implications of what she was doing, while he pleads innocence due to ignorance of what she was doing. Transparent, cynical coordinated strategy.”

“He should be expelled from Congress,” demanded someone else.

While another quipped, “Bob is as honest…okay, he’s not honest." 

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