Bob Menendez’s lawyers say his ‘trauma’ is to blame for bribery case

A high-profile Democrat Senator who is under investigation for bribery is expected, according to his lawyers, to blame his actions in part on the ‘traumatic’ death of his father nearly 50 years ago. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was charged in September for using his influence as a lawmaker to help provide favors for several businessmen and the governments of Qatar and Egypt.

 A raid of the senator’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home uncovered around $500,000 in cash stowed in clothes, closets and a safe, 13 gold bars and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible. Now, the Democrat’s lawyers are hatching a plan to portray Menendez as a compulsive money withdrawer whose fear of going without stems from ‘traumatic experiences in his past associated with cash and finances.’

Menendez’s legal team is even requesting a psychologist – Karen B. Rosenbaum – to testify that the Democrat ‘experienced trauma when his father, a compulsive gambler, died by [self-murder] after Senator Menendez eventually decided to discontinue paying off his father’s gambling debts.’ Menendez and his wife Nadine have pleaded not guilty to the alleged bribery scheme.

The lawyers for Menendez wrote summarizing Rosenbaum’s findings that the Democrat has a ‘fear of scarcity’ which resulted in a ‘longstanding coping mechanism of routinely withdrawing and storing cash in his home.’ The senator’s family history in Cuba, where they had property confiscated, also contributed to his ATM habit, his lawyers wrote to the court. And Menendez has even admitted as much.

‘For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,’ he said in September. ‘Now this may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years.’

But the move to allow Rosenbaum to testify about the Democrat’s trauma has been pushed back on by federal prosecutors. They argue that the psychologist’s testimony may not be rooted in science and it is a move to evoke sympathy from jurors. The prosecutors wrote the testimony would ‘engender sympathy based on his family background, in the guise of expert testimony.’

The federal prosecutors also told the judge the psychologist’s conclusion ‘does not appear to be the product of any reliable scientific principle or method.’ Additionally, Rosenbaum’s testimony could provide a way for jurors to hear about Menendez’s family history without forcing him to take the stand, and thus be open to cross examination. 

Previously, Menendez’s wife has claimed that the gold bars were family heirlooms. According to court documents, a Menendez staffer and a jeweler were told by the senator and his wife that the gold came from Nadine’s deceased mother. But prosecutors say that Nadine told her jeweler a ‘false cover story’ about where the gold came from.

They claim the gold bars came from one of the New Jersey businessmen that is also facing charges in the bribery scheme. The trail for Menendez is expected to begin May 13.

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