Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey defiantly pushed back against federal corruption charges on Monday, saying cash authorities found in his home was from his savings account and was on hand for emergencies, it wasn’t bribe proceeds.

He said he believed that he’d be exonerated and that prosecutors sometimes get the facts wrong.

“I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be the New Jersey’s senior senator,” Menendez said at Hudson County Community College’s campus in Union City, where he grew up. He did not respond to questions and did not address whether he will seek reelection next year.

Addressing allegations in the indictment unsealed Friday that authorities found cash stuffed in envelopes and clothing at his home, Menendez said the funds were draw from his personal savings account and stemmed his parents fear of confiscation of funds from their time in Cuba.

  • @Rapidcreek@reddthat.com
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    371 year ago

    Yeah, I usually spread half a million of savings around the house. Safer than abank.Who does he think is buying this?

    • Flying Squid
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      191 year ago

      And what better way to store them than to stuff them in envelopes and clothing?

      • @Rapidcreek@reddthat.com
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        -11 year ago

        Schumer does not need to make a public statement. Neither does Biden for that matter. They are not defending, so that’s the message. It’s up to the rule of law and the voters.

          • @Rapidcreek@reddthat.com
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            11 year ago

            He didn’t cause Al resign, and he won’t cause Menendez to resign either. Menendez is going to try to hang on, and there is not much Schumer can do about it. I predict though, that he will resign in a couple of weeks.

            • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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              31 year ago

              What?

              Franken resigned because party leadership (including Schumer) told him the only way he’d get an investigation to clear his name was to resign immediately.

              After he resigned, they said there was no reason to investigate.

              And you’re changing the topic.

              The article says Schumer hasn’t called on him to resign.

              You said Schumer wouldn’t call for anyone to resign.

              So I linked him kneecapping a rising progressive.

              You don’t have to keep replying if you can’t defend Schumer, no one is asking you to, or wants you to for that matter.

              • @Rapidcreek@reddthat.com
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                61 year ago

                Sigh. Gillibrand was trying to make a name for herself and get some power. She marshaled the women of the Senate aga8nst AL and called for an investigation into the workplace. Al, for his part, got tired of the BS and resigned. He could have fought it, and probably would have won, but it just wasn’t worth it, I guess.

                • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  There’s just no thread of logical consistency here…

                  We’re talking about when Schumer calls for someone to resign.

                  You keep jumping to different topics.

                  And you’re just flat out lying about what happened to Franken, or you have no idea what you’re talking about.

                  Same result, gibberish

  • Ghostalmedia
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    261 year ago

    The “personal savings” stuffed into clothing, that also contained fingerprints and DNA of the people trying to buy him off.

  • @Zombiepirate@lemmy.world
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    161 year ago

    Is this where we circle the wagons and yell “witch hunt” while making every kind of excuse possible and accusing everyone who disagrees of being a pedo?

    My copy of the Soros Guide to Globalism is still in the mail, so I need some direction on what do do in case of an egregious scandal. We can’t just admit this guy is a corrupt shit bag and call for his ejection from Congress, right?

    • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      61 year ago

      We can’t just admit this guy is a corrupt shit bag and call for his ejection from Congress, right?

      Dem voters do a decent job of holding our politicians accountable…

      But the party leadership doesn’t see it that way. The only time they go against a D is if they’re a progressive and a threat to the status quo

      In Washington, however, where his party holds a bare Senate majority, some of Menendez’s Democratic colleagues have stopped short of urging him to give up his seat, notably Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, and Majority Whip Dick Durbin, of Illinois.

  • @Wrench@lemmy.world
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    121 year ago

    Yeah… I know people who do this. They are professional gamblers doing it to avoid reporting it as income to evade taxes. Sorry senator, no one is buying that there’s a legitimate reason to be hoarding cash and gold at your home.

  • AutoTL;DRB
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    21 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:


    UNION CITY, N.J. (AP) — Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey defiantly pushed back against federal corruption charges on Monday, saying cash authorities found in his home was from his savings account and was on hand for emergencies, it wasn’t bribe proceeds.

    “I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet, but as I have stated throughout this whole process, I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be the New Jersey’s senior senator,” Menendez said at Hudson County Community College’s campus in Union City, where he grew up.

    He and his wife, Nadine Menendez, are accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold and a luxury car from a trio of New Jersey businessmen for a variety of corrupt acts.

    The indictment said Menendez used his clout to interfere in three criminal cases, pressured U.S. agriculture regulators to protect an associate’s business interests, and used his position as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee to influence U.S. policy on Egypt.

    Prosecutors say he met with Egyptian military and intelligence officials, passed along non-public information about employees at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwrote a letter on behalf of Egypt asking his Senate colleagues to release a hold on $300 million worth of aid.

    Federal agents who searched his home in 2022 found more than $480,00 in cash stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe, and gold bars worth more than $100,000, prosecutors said.


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