'Gold Bar' Bob Menendez arrives in court without his wife for jury selection in his bribery trial after claiming his father's death was the reason he kept stacks of cash in his house
- Sen. Bob Menednez, D-N.J., arrived at court for jury selection in his bribery case
- READ MORE: Bob Menendez claims his father's death is why he hoarded cash
Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez has arrived at a Manhattan federal court for his bribery trial that could last months and decide the balance of power in the Senate.
In September, the New Jersey Democrat was accused by the Department of Justice of being involved in a bribery scheme with several American businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
A raid of the senator's Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home uncovered around $500,000 in cash stowed in clothes, closets and a safe, 13 gold bars and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible, all of which prosecutors claim were payments for favors given out by Menendez.
Two New Jersey businessmen - Wael Hana and Fred Daibes - also face charges in the case along with Menendez's wife Nadine, though she will be tried separately. All four have pleaded not guilty.
On Monday morning, the New Jersey senator appeared alone for jury selection in his case.
![Sen. Bob Menendez, center, sits with his defense team during jury selection, Monday, May 13, 2024, at Manhattan federal court in New York. Menendez, a Democrat, is accused of accepting bribes of gold and cash to use his influence to deliver favors that would help three New Jersey businessmen](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/22/84818387-13412453-image-a-3_1715634037016.jpg)
Sen. Bob Menendez, center, sits with his defense team during jury selection, Monday, May 13, 2024, at Manhattan federal court in New York. Menendez, a Democrat, is accused of accepting bribes of gold and cash to use his influence to deliver favors that would help three New Jersey businessmen
![Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, New York, United States on May 13, 2024](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84799139-13412453-Sen_Bob_Menendez_D_N_J_arrives_at_the_federal_courthouse_in_Manh-a-3_1715611673706.jpg)
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, New York, United States on May 13, 2024
![Menendez pleaded not guilty to accusations that he and his wife Nadine Menendez accepted gold bars and cash from three New Jersey businessmen](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84799135-13412453-Menendez_pleaded_not_guilty_to_accusations_that_he_and_his_wife_-a-6_1715611539567.jpg)
Menendez pleaded not guilty to accusations that he and his wife Nadine Menendez accepted gold bars and cash from three New Jersey businessmen
![Prosecutors allege that Menendez and his wife Nadine accepted bribes in the form of gold bars cash and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for favors for three American businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84799075-13412453-Prosecutors_allege_that_Menendez_and_his_wife_Nadine_accepted_br-a-3_1715611539463.jpg)
Prosecutors allege that Menendez and his wife Nadine accepted bribes in the form of gold bars cash and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for favors for three American businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar
![This image provided by the U.S. Attorney's office shows two of the gold bars found during a search by federal agents of Sen. Bob Menendez's home and safe deposit box](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84799617-13412453-This_image_provided_by_the_U_S_Attorney_s_office_shows_two_of_th-a-7_1715611673794.jpg)
This image provided by the U.S. Attorney's office shows two of the gold bars found during a search by federal agents of Sen. Bob Menendez's home and safe deposit box
Menendez is New Jersey's senior senator and has served in the office since 2006.
He previously held the influential role of Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, but was stripped of his position after the DOJ announced charges against him.
The Democrat is up for re-election in November and has noted his desire to run again should he be exonerated. He has said he would consider running as an independent should he be found not guilty of wrongdoing.
Still, recent polls show that Menendez is unpopular among New Jersey voters and Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., whose running for the seat, has dominated the surveys.
Democrat Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, notably, has called on Menendez to resign.
And many other lawmakers will be watching the case as the Senate is closely divided with Democrats and Independents holding 51 seats in the upper chamber compared to Republicans 49 seats.
The 66-page indictment prompting Menendez's Monday court appearance charges him with acting as a foreign agent, extortion, bribery, fraud and obstruction of justice.
But this is not the first time Menendez has been criminally charged.
In 2017, the Democrat was prosecuted for a separate slate of bribery and corruption charges.
However, the New Jersey senator escaped prosecution without being charged as the jury could not come to a consensus and the case ended in a mistrial.
The trial which begins Monday, though, features a notable weakness for Mendendez's defense.
A third businessman charged in the trial - Jose Uribe - pleaded guilty to bribing Menendez and his wife Nadine in March and is now cooperating with the prosecution.
![A handout photo made available by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan shows jackets found by federal agents inside the home of US Democratic Senator from New Jersey Bob Menendez, along with cash found inside the jackets.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84799597-13412453-A_handout_photo_made_available_by_the_U_S_Attorney_s_Office_in_M-a-5_1715611539554.jpg)
A handout photo made available by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan shows jackets found by federal agents inside the home of US Democratic Senator from New Jersey Bob Menendez, along with cash found inside the jackets.
![Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife Nadine are both being prosecuted in the case](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84416151-13412453-Sen_Bob_Menendez_D_N_J_and_his_wife_Nadine_are_both_being_prosec-a-4_1715611673712.jpg)
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife Nadine are both being prosecuted in the case
![Jose Uribe admitted to bribing the long-time New Jersey senator in March and will work with prosecutors](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/81930861-13412453-Jose_Uribe_admitted_to_bribing_the_long_time_New_Jersey_senator_-a-5_1715611673713.jpg)
Jose Uribe admitted to bribing the long-time New Jersey senator in March and will work with prosecutors
Uribe admitted to seven counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice, tax evasion and other charges.
Federal prosecutors have indicated they will call witnesses from New Jersey's attorney general's office as well as the federal prosecutors assigned to the Garden State.
Lawyers for Menendez and his wife have also indicated in court filings how they plan to fight the bribery charges.
One of the methods is by painting Menendez as a compulsive money withdrawer whose fear of going without stems from 'traumatic experiences in his past associated with cash and finances.'
The senator's legal team requested a psychologist - Karen B. Rosenbaum - to testify that the Democrat 'experienced trauma when his father, a compulsive gambler, died by suicide after Senator Menendez eventually decided to discontinue paying off his father's gambling debts.'
The lawyers for Menendez wrote summarizing Rosenbaum's findings that the Democrat has a 'fear of scarcity' which resulted in a 'longstanding coping mechanism of routinely withdrawing and storing cash in his home.'
The senator's family history in Cuba, where they had property confiscated, also contributed to his ATM habit, his lawyers wrote to the court.
And Menendez has even admitted as much.
'For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,' he said in September following the announcement of charges against him.
![Menendez's lawyers are prepared to invoke his childhood trauma and family history of having property confiscated in Cuba as a reason for why he habitually pulled money out of his accounts](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84417647-13412453-Menendez_s_lawyers_are_prepared_to_invoke_his_childhood_trauma_a-a-8_1715611539619.jpg)
Menendez's lawyers are prepared to invoke his childhood trauma and family history of having property confiscated in Cuba as a reason for why he habitually pulled money out of his accounts
![Stashes of cash were found in jackets bearing the senator's name during a search of his home](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84416045-13412453-Stashes_of_cash_were_found_in_jackets_bearing_the_senator_s_name-a-9_1715611539670.jpg)
Stashes of cash were found in jackets bearing the senator's name during a search of his home
But the move to allow Rosenbaum to testify about the Democrat's trauma has been pushed back on by federal prosecutors.
They argue that the psychologist's testimony may not be rooted in science and it is a move to evoke sympathy from jurors.
The prosecutors wrote the testimony would 'engender sympathy based on his family background, in the guise of expert testimony.'
The federal prosecutors also told the judge the psychologist's conclusion 'does not appear to be the product of any reliable scientific principle or method.'
Additionally, Rosenbaum's testimony could provide a way for jurors to hear about Menendez's family history without forcing him to take the stand, and thus be open to cross examination.
The Menendez couple has also claimed that the infamous gold bars at the center of the case were actually family heirlooms and not bribery payments.
A Menendez staffer and a jeweler were told by the senator and his wife that the gold came from Nadine's deceased mother, according to court filings.
But prosecutors say that Nadine told her jeweler a 'false cover story' about where the gold came from.
The FBI said the bars were bribery payments to the Democrat from a New Jersey developer, Fred Daibes.
He allegedly gave the senator gold in exchange for Menendez to pressure the state's U.S. attorney's office to not aggressively prosecute him in bank fraud case.
In 2013, Daibes' penthouse was broken into and he had gold bars, cash and other items stolen.
The perpetrators were caught and confessed, and Daibes signed official police documentation certifying that the gold bars were his, identifiable thanks to serial numbers and markings.
![Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York, Sept. 27, 2023. A federal judge has ruled that Sen. Menendez and his wife will be tried separately on allegations that they participated in a bribery scheme.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84799609-13412453-Sen_Bob_Menendez_of_New_Jersey_and_his_wife_Nadine_Menendez_arri-a-11_1715611539733.jpg)
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife Nadine Menendez arrive at the federal courthouse in New York, Sept. 27, 2023. A federal judge has ruled that Sen. Menendez and his wife will be tried separately on allegations that they participated in a bribery scheme.
![During the court-authorized search of the Menendez home, agents found home furnishings provided by Hana and Daibes, the luxury vehicle paid for by Uribe parked in the garage, as well as over one hundred thousand dollars' worth of gold bars in the home, which were provided by either Hana or Daibes](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/05/13/15/84799613-13412453-During_the_court_authorized_search_of_the_Menendez_home_agents_f-a-6_1715611673720.jpg)
During the court-authorized search of the Menendez home, agents found home furnishings provided by Hana and Daibes, the luxury vehicle paid for by Uribe parked in the garage, as well as over one hundred thousand dollars' worth of gold bars in the home, which were provided by either Hana or Daibes
Daibes had the stolen gold bars returned to him.
But NBC News realized that Daibes' gold bars were the same ones that were seized in the raid on Menendez's house.
Their discovery is likely to be a key part of prosecutors' argument, as they maintain that Menendez was paid by Daibes for favors.
The case is expected to last between five and eight weeks.