Bob Menendez’s defense: I let cash halve in value because I’m Cuban
Tiana Lowe Doescher
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Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is correct that he is entitled to due process in a court of law, where he will be tried for a second time for criminal bribery and corruption, as well as the novel charge of conspiracy to commit extortion. For the rest of us with eyes, ears, and basic common sense, the New Jersey senator’s claim of innocence simply doesn’t pass the smell test. Worse, his most disingenuous defense requires us to be as stupid as the Democrat is.
Just as Kevin Spacey used a sexual assault allegation to publicly “choose” to live as a gay man, Menendez has insisted, “Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. senator.” Better yet, at his Monday press conference to double down on his recalcitrance, he has tried to explain away the most damning evidence found by the feds with his Cuban heritage.
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“For 30 years, I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies, and because of the history of my family facing confiscation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. “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.”
Recall that Menendez is not talking about the hundred thousand dollars worth of gold bars found stashed throughout the Menendez house by the feds. Rather, Menendez is referring to over $480,000 in cash.
As a matter of practicality, the indictment makes clear that Menendez wasn’t looking for security, as the cash in question was found stuffed in envelopes and hidden in clothing, not just in a safe. But the dollars and cents simply don’t add up, per Menendez’s own explanation.
Say Menendez, who legally earns $174,000 each year as a senator, really did compile the cash found starting in 1993. Well, half a million dollars in 1993 has halved in real value in that time, as the cumulative rate of inflation over the past three decades is more than 100%. Are we really supposed to believe that Menendez would siphon off roughly 10% of his official earnings over the past 30 years to let that sum be eviscerated by inflation?
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For reference, parking $480,000 in the S&P back in 1993 would result in nearly $9 million, or more than a 1,000% return on investment.
One can plausibly believe that the most corrupt man in the Senate is that stupid, but that selfless? The sheer implausibility should have Joe Biden calling for Menendez’s resignation by the end of the week.