Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images and US District Court for the Southern District of New York
- Sen. Bob Menendez spoke publicly about his bribery indictment for the first time on Monday.
- He says the cash that feds found stuffed into envelopes actually came from his own bank account.
- He cited the "history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba."
In his first public comments since his indictment on bribery charges, Sen. Bob Menendez offered up an unusual explanation for why there was so much cash in his home: his family's history of facing confiscation in Cuba.
As part of the alleged bribery scheme, federal prosecutors provided photographic evidence of more than $480,000 in cash that they say they found "stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe" in the New Jersey Democrat's home.
The indictment also alleges that the fingerprints of one of the businessmen alleged to have bribed Menendez were found on some of those envelopes.
Menendez did not specifically address the allegations made by federal prosecutors that he accepted bribes, including in the form of gold bars, in exchange for helping a New Jersey company secure a monopoly on halal certification for US imports to Egypt. But he insisted that the money was his own.
"For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation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 said at a press conference in 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 was born in the United States to Cuban immigrants who fled the island country in 1953, during the reign of US-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista.
He did not address the origin of the gold bars during the press conference.
In the wake of the indictment, Democrats in New Jersey — including Gov. Phil Murphy and most of the state's House delegation — have called for Menendez to resign. Democratic Rep. Andy Kim announced that he would launch a primary bid against Menendez, saying that his state "deserves better."
Menendez made clear at the press conference that he would continue to seek re-election in 2024.
"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," said Menendez.
Menendez's Democratic colleagues in the Senate — aside from Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — have largely resisted calling for his resignation, at least for now.
The New Jersey Democrat has since stepped down from his position as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The indictment alleges that he used that position to benefit the government of Egypt, including ghost-writing a letter from the Egyptian government to fellow senators asking them to release a hold on $300 million in aid to the country.
On Monday, Menendez portrayed himself as a stalwart defender of civil society and human rights in Egypt, pointing to letters he sent to former President Donald Trump and other officials as well as closed-door conversations he's had with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.