NEWARK, N.J.  — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez “sold his office for a lifestyle he couldn’t afford” by accepting luxury trips and other favors from a wealthy doctor seeking political influence, a government prosecutor told jurors Wednesday during opening statements of the Democrat’s corruption trial.

Menendez’s attorney responded that gifts from Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, Menendez’s longtime friend, didn’t equate to a bribery agreement. Menendez’s meetings with government officials — though they could have aided Melgen’s business interests — were “what members of Congress do” and were meant to influence future policy, attorney Abbe Lowell said.