No Jurors Seated on First Day of Menendez Corruption Trial

Jury selection began on Monday in the federal corruption trial of Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, who is charged with accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars in exchange for political favors at home and abroad.

By late afternoon, no jurors had been selected for the trial, which is taking place in Manhattan and is likely to last until about the Fourth of July.

Mr. Menendez has represented New Jersey in Congress for three decades, but the corruption case was brought by prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. The jurors who will be asked to weigh the evidence against him and two New Jersey businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, will be from Manhattan, the Bronx or several counties north of New York City.

All three men have pleaded not guilty.

At 7:30 a.m., reporters and prospective jurors carrying blue summons envelopes lined up outside the Daniel Patrick Moynihan federal courthouse waiting for the doors to open to the public.

Inside the courthouse, just before 8:30 a.m., Mr. Menendez walked through security, wearing a dark blue suit and striped red tie, his Senate pin visible on his lapel. He greeted court officers with a smile as he passed through the metal detector.

Two hours later, he stood facing scores of prospective jurors as they filed into a wood-paneled courtroom. He appeared relaxed as the proceeding continued, leaning back in a chair with hands clasped either at his waist or near his chest.