4 big questions as Bob Menendez’s corruption trial enters its second week

Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, which began with vivid opening statements from both federal prosecutors and defense attorneys, enters its second week Monday.

First the fireworks, now the smoke. Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial, which began with absorbing and vivid opening statements — both from federal prosecutors and from attorneys for the New Jersey Democrat and his co-defendants — is moving into a less spectacular phase as it enters its second week Monday. Menendez, 70, has been charged with playing a pivotal role in a convoluted international bribery scheme involving his wife, Nadine; the governments of Egypt and Qatar; and several Garden State businessmen — including one who has already pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the federal government. Menendez and his co-defendants have pleaded not guilty. But for all the talk of graft and gold bars, prosecutors must now get down to the nitty-gritty, connecting a sprawling collection of evidence and testimony — much of it still to come — for a jury that is already repeatedly hearing from defense attorneys not only that their client is innocent, but that even if he did do much of what is alleged, it wouldn’t amount to a crime. Though the trial has been overshadowed by another sordid legal drama playing out a short walk away in New York City’s Manhattan Criminal Court, Menendez has already made some history of his own: He is the only US senator ever to be indicted in two separate criminal cases. Last time around, Menendez walked after a deadlocked jury led the judge to declare a mistrial. Now, though, prosecutors feel they have a stronger case. Menendez, who — along with co-defendants Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman, and Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer — has vigorously denied the charges, faces a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.