Jury Selection Continues in Robert Menendez Corruption Trial

Jury selection in the corruption trial of Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey was set to continue into a second day on Tuesday, as a judge labored to find the jurors who will weigh some of the gravest charges ever leveled against a sitting federal lawmaker.

The judge, Sidney H. Stein, spent all of Monday questioning prospective jurors, largely in a private chamber outside the federal courtroom in Manhattan. But the day ended without seating any of the dozen jurors he needs to sit for up to two months.

Once jury selection is completed, the trial is expected to move quickly to opening statements. Prosecutors will lay out the details of a sordid bribery case involving more than $100,000 in gold bullion, an Egyptian halal meat monopoly and a Qatari sheikh.

Mr. Menendez, 70, a Democrat, is being tried alongside two New Jersey businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana.

The senator’s wife, Nadine Menendez, 57, has also been charged in the bribery scheme but will be tried separately in July. A judge granted a delay after her lawyers said that she had a serious medical condition requiring prompt treatment and, possibly, a lengthy recovery.

Mr. Menendez’s lawyers have indicated that his defense, at least in part, will be to blame Ms. Menendez, his wife of less than four years. If he chooses to testify, Mr. Menendez will most likely outline “the ways in which she withheld information” and “led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place,” his lawyers told the court in pretrial filings.