WEBVTT 00:01.100 --> 00:03.233 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% AMNA NAWAZ: Jury selection began today, 00:03.233 --> 00:07.300 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% as Democratic Senator Bob Menendez is set to become the first sitting senator ever tried 00:09.300 --> 00:12.800 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for conspiracy to act as a foreign agent. The case is expected to last several weeks. 00:13.866 --> 00:16.733 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% Lisa Desjardins previews what's to come. 00:16.733 --> 00:20.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: In Manhattan today, a powerful New Jersey senator arrived to 00:20.400 --> 00:25.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% face everyday New Yorkers who will decide his fate. The start of jury selection is 00:25.200 --> 00:29.933 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the start of Democrat Bob Menendez's second bribery trial in seven years. 00:32.000 --> 00:35.666 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% The senior senator was accustomed to calling the shots from his perch atop 00:35.666 --> 00:38.433 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He stepped down as 00:38.433 --> 00:43.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% chair when charges came last fall. But Menendez refuses to resign from office. 00:45.666 --> 00:49.033 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ (D-NJ): I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but, as I have 00:49.033 --> 00:54.000 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that, when all the facts are presented, 00:56.000 --> 00:59.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be the New Jersey's senior senator. 01:01.600 --> 01:03.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: The lawmaker is charged with becoming a lawbreaker, accused of 01:03.766 --> 01:08.633 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% taking bribes to help individual businessmen, as well as Egypt and Qatar, and then greasing 01:10.700 --> 01:13.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% billions in weapons and other deals, passing along information and pressuring officials. 01:13.866 --> 01:16.233 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% DAMIAN WILLIAMS, U.S. Attorney, Southern District of New York: My office remains firmly committed 01:16.233 --> 01:20.700 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% to rooting out public corruption without fear or favor and without any regard to partisan politics. 01:22.800 --> 01:25.700 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: Prosecutors say they found what Menendez and his wife got in exchange, 01:25.700 --> 01:28.400 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% a Mercedes convertible and, inside their house, 01:28.400 --> 01:33.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% gold bars worth 100 grand and wads totaling more than $480,000 in cash. 01:35.533 --> 01:37.633 align:left position:30% line:83% size:60% Menendez offered this explanation. 01:37.633 --> 01:41.666 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ: For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars 01:41.666 --> 01:46.266 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for 01:46.266 --> 01:51.233 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% emergencies and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba. 01:53.333 --> 01:55.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: Prosecutors paint Menendez's wife, Nadine, as a critical go-between, 01:55.466 --> 02:00.333 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% but Menendez's court filings have hinted he may try to pin all the blame on her. 02:00.333 --> 02:02.466 align:left position:10% line:89% size:80% Her trial is set for July. 02:02.466 --> 02:07.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% Two businessmen charged will be tried alongside the senator. All four defendants have pleaded 02:07.033 --> 02:12.033 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% not guilty. They may have been friends, but Menendez to stress they were also constituents. 02:14.433 --> 02:16.533 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% JONATHAN SALANT, Former Washington Correspondent, NJ Advance Media: You cannot prosecute a lawmaker 02:16.533 --> 02:19.733 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for talking on the floor and for acting as a lawmaker, including helping constituents. 02:21.733 --> 02:23.866 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: Jonathan Salant covered Menendez as the Washington correspondent 02:23.866 --> 02:27.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% for a group of New Jersey papers for nearly a decade, including the senator's last trial. 02:29.566 --> 02:31.533 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% SEN. ROBERT MENENDEZ: To those who were digging my political grave so 02:31.533 --> 02:35.400 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that they could jump into my seat, I know who you are and I won't forget you. 02:37.400 --> 02:40.133 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: Menendez survived that bribery case in 2017. Prosecutors alleged 02:40.133 --> 02:43.466 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% that he took nearly a million dollars worth of gifts in exchange for helping 02:43.466 --> 02:48.200 align:left position:20% line:77% size:70% a friend's business. The DOJ did not retry the case after jurors deadlocked. 02:48.200 --> 02:51.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% EDWARD NORRIS, Juror: It was a victimless crime, I think, and I just didn't see a smoking gun. 02:51.833 --> 02:56.133 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% LISA DESJARDINS: Salant says, in this year's case, there is a change in Jersey political cycles. 02:56.133 --> 03:00.733 align:left position:20% line:71% size:70% JONATHAN SALANT: It was outrageous enough that the delegation called for his resignation, 03:00.733 --> 03:04.200 align:left position:10% line:83% size:80% the governor called for his resignation. So this goes -- in 03:04.200 --> 03:09.200 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the opinion of those folks, goes beyond normal rough-and-tough New Jersey politics. 03:10.866 --> 03:12.966 align:left position:30% line:77% size:60% LISA DESJARDINS: Congressman Andy Kim is the prohibitive favorite to 03:12.966 --> 03:17.066 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% win New Jersey's Democratic primary this June. Menendez is sitting out that race, 03:17.066 --> 03:19.700 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% but could run as an independent in November. 03:19.700 --> 03:23.766 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% JONATHAN SALANT: If Menendez runs as an independent, that could scramble everything. 03:23.766 --> 03:26.833 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% LISA DESJARDINS: Democrats face longer odds to keep the Senate if New Jersey 03:26.833 --> 03:31.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% becomes a battleground, but, for Menendez, much more than his political future is on 03:31.500 --> 03:36.500 align:left position:10% line:77% size:80% the line. If convicted on all charges, he could face a sentence of over 200 years. 03:37.700 --> 03:42.233 align:left position:20% line:83% size:70% For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Lisa Desjardins.