NEWARK – The U.S. government has begun its closing argument in the corruption case against Sen. Bob Menendez.

Department of Justice prosecutor J.P. Cooney began addressing jurors shortly before 10 a.m., saying Menendez concealed a stream of bribes from his friend Dr. Salomon Melgen, all to avoid a day of reckoning before a jury like the one he is facing now.

“That day, that day is here,” Cooney said. “These two defendants can no longer hide behind their power or their wealth. They can no longer hide behind staff members or friendship. Starting right now, Sen. Menendez and Dr. Melgen cannot hide their bribery.”

Asking jurors to convict the senator and Melgen on bribery, conspiracy and false statements charges, Cooney tried to simplify the lengthy testimony heard during nearly two months of trial.

“Use your common sense, trust your common sense,” Cooney told the jurors. “The defense has tried really hard in this case to make everything seem more complicated than it really is…this is bribery and this is what bribery looks like.”

Perhaps realizing potential weak points in the government case, Cooney tried to neutralize arguments the defense will likely make in their closings later today. Yesterday’s jury instructions said a gift is not a bribe if it is only given out of friendship.

“Friends can bribe each other,” Cooney said this morning. “Sen. Menendez and Dr. Melgen were friends who committed bribery together.”

Early in his summation, Cooney redeployed video of a 2013 interview between Menendez and CNN’s Dana Bash, where Menendez incorrectly stated the number of flights he took at Melgen’s expense. Cooney said this is evidence of the senator covering his tracks.

“What was it that Sen. Menendez was so determined to hide?” prosecutor J.P. Cooney rhetorically asked the jury. “You know the answer from the nine weeks you have spent in this courtroom.”

“He wanted to hide that he had become Dr. Melgen’s personal United States Senator,” Cooney said.

The government’s closing statement is expected to take at least an hour, and be followed by one summation each from the defense attorneys. The government will get a final rebuttal statement. It’s unclear if all sides will have the time to present their arguments before the scheduled end of the day at 4:30 p.m.

Jurors, who have refused to extend their normal Monday through Thursday trial week for deliberations, will not start working towards a verdict until Monday.

This is a developing news story. Stay with InsiderNJ for updates.