US Senator Bob Menendez's defence has sought to shift blame for his alleged bribe-taking to his wife, in opening statements at his corruption trial.

Nadine Menendez "kept him in the dark" on financial matters, the politician's attorney, Avi Weitzman, told the jury.

But prosecutor Lara Pomerantz said Mr Menendez, 70, used his wife as a go-between in trading political influence for money, gifts and gold bars.

The long-serving New Jersey Democrat "put his power up for sale", she said.

Mr Menendez is accused of accepting bribes, including gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible, in exchange for helping foreign governments. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The trial, in a Manhattan federal court, could stretch to July. Mr Menendez is required to attend each day.

He was the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than five years, which gave him sway over US foreign policy. He was removed as chairman after he was charged.

• The bribery trial against Bob Menendez, explained

He married Nadine Menendez, who was born in Lebanon before moving to the US as a child, in 2020. She is being tried separately on her own bribery and corruption charges, to which she has pleaded not guilty.

Laying out the government's case against Mr Menendez, Ms Pomerantz took aim at what she described as a "betrayal" of the senator's oath of office.

"This was not politics as usual. This was politics for profit. This was a United States senator on the take," she said.

And, Ms Pomerantz said, the Democrat used his wife to help facilitate the deals. Mr Menendez was "too smart" to send texts and emails regarding the bribes himself, she alleged, so he advised his spouse on what to do.

Mr Menendez's defence team painted a different picture of the senator's marriage, portraying Mrs Menendez as a financially troubled individual who left her husband out of her scramble to resolve money problems and "to get cash and assets any way she could".