Jury selection in next month’s federal corruption trial of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., began Tuesday, with attorneys questioning potential jurors.
Menendez faces 14 counts of bribery and conspiracy after he was charged in 2015 with allegedly accepting gifts and campaign donations, including trips to Paris and the Dominican Republic, from Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen. The New Jersey Democrat allegedly received the gifts and campaign contributions in exchange for using his position in the Senate to lobby for the eye doctor’s business interests.
Melgen is a co-defendant in the case. In a separate trial, Melgen was convicted of several counts of Medicare fraud in April. Though Menendez wasn’t named in that case, the indictment against him accuses the New Jersey Democrat of intervening on Melgen’s behalf in a Medicare disagreement.
The jury, which includes 12 jurors and four alternates, could be chosen by the end of the week, according to CBS New York and the Associated Press.
Both Menendez and Melgen have said the gifts and campaign donations were innocent and, in court papers, said there was no bribery agreement between the two. Menendez said his involvement as a member of Congress was part of his legitimate duties as a lawmaker.
“I’m angry because prosecutors at the Justice Department don’t know the difference between friendship and corruption,” Menendez said in April 2015.
Opening arguments in the trial are scheduled to begin Sept. 6, and the trial is expected to last roughly two months.
The trial could have significant consequences if Menendez is convicted and forced to leave the Senate before January. Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, remains in office until Jan. 16, and would be tasked with picking Menendez’s successor if the senator were to leave Congress.
