At former Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial last year, his defense team cast him as an unwitting pawn in a global bribery scheme orchestrated by his wife, Nadine Menendez, that netted the couple nearly $1 million in gold bars, cash, and other valuables.

But a lawyer for Ms. Menendez, the wife of former Senator Robert Menendez, told jurors at the start of her bribery trial that she lacked “knowledge and intent.”

Federal prosecutors began their case against the wife of former Sen. Bob Menendez by arguing she “did the dirty work” to collect bribes for the couple. “They were partners in crime, partners in corruption and partners in greed,