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.”

Opening statements are set to begin in the bribery trial of Nadine Menendez, the wife of prison-bound former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez.