Sen. Bob Menendez pulls Cuba card, says piles of cash feds found from his savings

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) on Monday denounced efforts to prosecute him on federal bribery charges, saying he withdrew piles of cash that federal agents found at his home and say link him to the crimes — because he is the son of Cuban immigrants.

“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” Menendez, 69, said at a press conference in his hometown of Union City.

“Now this may seem old-fashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal savings account based on the income that I have lawfully derived over those 30 years.”

Menendez ducked out immediately after he made remarks in English and Spanish, ignoring shouted questions from the approximately 50 reporters in the room.

The twice-indicted senator was hit with three counts of accepting $486,461 in cash bribes, as well as 13 gold bars worth more than $150,000 and a Mercedes-Benz convertible, according to a Manhattan federal indictment unsealed Friday.

The money, which was found “stuffed in envelopes” and “hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe,” was allegedly taken “to protect and to enrich” three wealthy New Jersey businessmen and “to benefit the government of Egypt,” the indictment states.

If convicted on all counts, Menendez faces up to 45 years in prison.

The Garden State Democrat was indicted in 2015 for allegedly taking improper gifts from a Florida eye surgeon, but that prosecution ended in a hung jury two years later.

“The allegations leveled against me are just that — allegations,” Menendez told reporters on Monday at Hudson County Community College. “For anyone who has known me throughout my 50 years of public service, they know I have always fought for what is right.”

“My advocacy has always been grounded in what I learned from growing up as a son of Cuban refugees, especially my mom, my hero, Evangelina Menendez,” he went on. “Everything I’ve accomplished I’ve worked for, despite the naysayers and everyone who has underestimated me.”

“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 New Jersey’s senior senator.”

Menendez was indicted alongside his wife, Nadine, over what prosecutors called a “corrupt relationship” he had from 2018 to 2022 with businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, and the nation of Egypt, according to federal prosecutors.

Federal agents raided the senator’s Englewood Cliffs home in June 2022 and found “the fruits” of that “corrupt bribery agreement” — and also discovered Menendez made questionable internet searches for a “kilo of gold price.”

His wife also stashed $70,000 in cash in a safe deposit box.

Menendez has further been accused of meddling in a separate criminal case involving Daibes by urging President Biden to pick Philip Sellinger as the US Attorney for New Jersey to oversee that prosecution, prosecutors say.

Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference on Friday that Menendez had also used his “power and influence” on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to “aid the government of Egypt.”

The actions contradict Menendez’s pledge as a member of Congress — stated clearly on his Senate website — that “he cannot compel an agency to act in someone’s favor, “cannot influence matters involving a private business” and  “cannot get involved in criminal matters, or cases, period,” Williams said.

“But we allege behind the scenes, Senator Menendez was doing those things for certain people, the people who were bribing him and his wife,” Williams added, before saying that the federal probe was “very much ongoing.”

Menendez at his Monday presser urged others to presume his innocence until proven guilty, saying the indictment was “based on a limited set of facts framed by the prosecution to be as salacious as possible.”

“Remember, prosecutors get it wrong sometimes,” he also said at his press conference. “Sadly, I know that instead of waiting for all the facts to be presented, others have rushed to judgment because they see a political opportunity for themselves or those around them.

“All I humbly ask for in this moment, from my colleagues in Congress and those I have worked with for years, as well as each person who calls New Jersey home, is to pause and allow all the facts to be presented.”

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