Article snippet: Jury deliberations in the bribery trial of Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez are scheduled to resume amid uncertainty over the fallout from comments made by an excused juror last week. The juror told reporters on Thursday that although many jurors appeared to be leaning toward acquittal, she anticipated a hung jury. She was excused because of a previously scheduled vacation that the judge knew about during jury selection in August. An alternate juror will take her place on Monday, and deliberations will start over. The judge could interview jurors individually to determine if any are aware of Evelyn Arroyo-Maultsby's comments. Prosecutors alleged Menendez and wealthy Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen engaged in a bribery scheme between 2006 and 2013 in which Menendez traded his political influence for luxury vacations and flights on the doctor's private plane. They each face about a dozen counts including bribery, fraud and conspiracy. Menendez also is charged with making false statements for failing to report Melgen's gifts on Senate disclosure forms. Both men deny the allegations. Defense attorneys have sought to show jurors that the two men are longtime friends who exchanged gifts out of friendship. They also contend Menendez's meetings with government officials were focused on broad policy issues. In Menendez attorney Abbe Lowell's closing argument, he used the words "friend," ''friends" or "friendship" more than 80 times. In his rebuttal to jurors, fe... Link to the full article to read more