Federal jury returns for third day of deliberations at bribery trial of Sen. Bob Menendez

NEW YORK — A New York City jury is expected to resume deliberations Tuesday in the bribery trial of Senator Bob MenendezThe New Jersey Democrat is accused of accepting gold and cash to use his political influence to help three businessmen and the Egyptian government.

Menendez, 70, maintains his innocence. He faces 16 charges in a criminal complaint that accuses him of multiple corrupt acts, including interfering with criminal investigations to protect his associates and helping one of them deal with U.S. agricultural regulators. He is also accused of serving as a foreign agent for Egypt.

The senator is on trial with two New Jersey businessmen. All three defendants have pleaded not guilty. A third pleaded guilty before trial and testified against Menendez and the other businessmen.

Menendez’s wife, Nadine, is also charged in the case, though her trial has been postponed while she recovers from breast cancer surgery.

In a 2022 raid in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where Menendez lived with his wife, FBI agents seized gold bars worth nearly $150,000 and more than $480,000 in cash, some of it hidden in boots and jackets emblazoned with the senator’s name.

Menendez expressed some hope as he left the courthouse on Monday that the jury carefully considered the evidence in its deliberations. In two separate notes, the jury had asked questions about the charges, including in one case whether unanimity was required to acquit “on one count.”

“It’s clear that the government’s case is not as simple as they’ve made it out to be,” Menendez said, before repeating himself. “It’s not as simple as they’ve made it out to be. The jury’s out on that now.”

During the day closing arguments Last week, attorneys spent more than 15 hours urging jurors to carefully examine the evidence.

Prosecutors cited numerous instances where they said Menendez helped the businessmen. And they argued that his efforts to send $99 million worth of helicopter munitions to Egypt, along with cozy communications with top Egyptian officials, showed he was serving Egypt’s interests as an agent.

Lawyers for Menendez insisted that the senator had never accepted bribes and that the actions he took to benefit the businessmen were the kind of duties expected of a government official. His lawyers added that he was simply carrying out foreign affairs responsibilities expected of him in his role as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he was forced to resign after charges were filed.

Menendez announced a few weeks ago that he plans to run for re-election this year as an independent.