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.”