Prosecutors in Menendez Bribery Trial Rest Their Case

After seven weeks of trial, federal prosecutors rested their case on Friday against Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat accused of conspiring to take hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold, cash and other bribes in return for the senator’s willingness to dispense political favors at home and abroad.

Defense lawyers are expected to begin calling witnesses next week in Federal District Court in Manhattan.

Throughout the trial, lawyers for Mr. Menendez, who has vigorously maintained his innocence, have aggressively cross-examined a parade of government witnesses, seeking to undermine their credibility.

The conclusion of the government’s case comes nine months after Mr. Menendez, his wife and several New Jersey businessmen were first charged with participating in a vast bribery conspiracy that prosecutors say began in 2018.

The senator is accused of taking bribes in exchange for steering aid and weapons to Egypt, propping up an ally’s business monopoly and trying to disrupt several criminal investigations in New Jersey on behalf of friends.

The original indictment was updated multiple times as prosecutors broadened the charges. In October, the senator was charged with being an agent of Egypt. In March, he and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were accused of obstructing justice by causing their attorneys to make false statements to prosecutors in an attempt to suggest that alleged bribes were legitimate loans. (The lawyers were not accused of wrongdoing.)