(NEWSnet/AP) – Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine are seeking separate trials in a New York court on bribery charges they both face.

The New Jersey Democrat and his wife were each charged in the fall with aiding three New Jersey businessmen in return for cash, gold bars and a luxury car. The couple and the businessmen, who also face charges, have all pleaded not guilty.

The requests for separate trials were made as part of several pre-trial submissions late Monday by lawyers for defendants in the case.

Several days earlier, the senator’s lawyers had asked that charges in the case be dismissed.

Since the senator was first charged in September, he has been forced to relinquish his post leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prosecutors have added to the bribery charges too, saying that he conspired with his wife and one businessman to secretly advance Egypt’s interests and that he acted favorably toward Qatar’s government to aid a businessman.

The lawyers also said the trial should not be in New York since almost everything alleged to have occurred happened in New Jersey or outside New York.

Prosecutors will reply to the pre-trial motions with arguments of their own in several weeks.

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