Jury selected in New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial

The jury who will hear the DOJ’s bribery case against Sen. Bob Menendez has been selected after nearly three days of sifting through a group of 150 New Yorkers.

The jury who will hear the Justice Department’s bribery case against Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey has been selected after nearly three days of sifting through a group of 150 New Yorkers. The 12 jurors and six alternates were sworn in Wednesday in the Manhattan courtroom. Opening statements could begin as soon as Wednesday afternoon. During the selection process, the pool of potential jurors was read a list of more than 100 possible witnesses in the case, from sitting and former US senators to several sheikhs and former White House officials, as well as a list of companies and entities, including Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The vast majority of those named on the witness list – which is used to help attorneys and the court whittle down the jury pool – will not be called to testify. The pool of potential jurors – an array of New Yorkers, including pastors, a standup comedian and amateur musicians – were pressed on whether they could be unbiased and fairly consider testimony from law enforcement officers or convicted criminals. “I’ve already told you ladies and gentlemen how important it is that this case proceed with a fair impartial jury,” federal judge Sidney Stein told the potential jurors on Tuesday, saying that means “people who come without any bias” ready to put aside “anything about this case” they’ve heard from the media.