Senator Bob Menendez' Wife, Nadine Arslanian, Faces 45 Years Behind Bars

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez’s wife, Nadine Arslanian, faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted on bribery and corruption charges. The senator also faced a corruption trial of his own, his second in less than a decade.

Sen. Menendez was convicted of selling arms to a foreign government, corruption, bribery, disrupting a federal criminal prosecution, and more, facing sentencing in October. His wife, however, has yet to go to trial for her crimes -- and it seems there will be a significant delay in her court case.

It's unfair to say any adult is responsible for any other adult, let alone a 70-year-old United States senator. But it is fair to say that the case about the senator from New Jersey started soon after Bob and Nadine started dating. According to the press release the Justice Department sent out, the timeline pretty much says Bob is in hot water thanks to Nadine.

The release explains, “ROBERT MENENDEZ is the senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey and currently the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee ('SFRC'). NADINE MENENDEZ began dating MENENDEZ in February 2018, they became engaged in October 2019, and they married in October 2020." Why would a press release from the Justice Department care about a romantic relationship's timeline?

It continues, "Shortly after they began dating in 2018, NADINE MENENDEZ introduced MENENDEZ to her long-time friend WAEL HANA, who is originally from Egypt, lived in New Jersey, and maintained close connections with Egyptian officials. HANA was also business associates with FRED DAIBES, a New Jersey real estate developer and long-time donor to MENENDEZ, and JOSE URIBE, who worked in the New Jersey insurance and trucking business.”

There’s nothing wrong or illegal about introducing your new partner to your pals. It may be a bit wrong or illegal if those pals are working on behalf of foreign governments.

“The Indictment alleges that MENENDEZ and his wife, NADINE MENENDEZ, accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes from HANA, URIBE, and DAIBES in exchange for MENENDEZ’s agreement to use his official position to protect and enrich them and to benefit the Government of Egypt." The release also details how the senator allegedly agreed to pressure an official at the Department of Agriculture to help Egypt, help disrupt a federal trial to help one of Uribe's pals, and more.

Speaking of those bribes, the FBI found over a half million dollars stuffed in clothes, closets, and safes in Bob and Nadine's home and in a safety deposit box of Nadine's. They also found over $100,000 in gold bars (13 in total).

On July 16, the judge ruled that Sen. Menendez was found guilty on all counts, though Nadine's trial has been postponed as a result of her breast cancer diagnosis. U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein wrote, "The trial of this matter is adjourned sine die," using the Latin term to say it's been postponed indefinitely, per NBC News.

Sen. Menendez's lawyers said in a statement that the congressman's “highest priority is his wife’s health, and we are pleased that she is being given the time she needs to focus on treatment and recovery.” Nadine has stage three breast cancer and will undergo a mastectomy surgery as part of her treatment.