Long before New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was indicted on charges of bribery, authorities uncovered roughly $100,000 worth of gold bars and roughly $480,000 in secret cash stashed around his home, the lawmaker’s search history was allegedly far from good as gold.
Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife are accused of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes” in exchange for the senator’s influence, according to an indictment. Prosecutors allege the bribes included gold, cash, mortgage payments and a vehicle https://t.co/fCyu4CYZ3m pic.twitter.com/IEMZkekFke
— CNN (@CNN) September 22, 2023
Sen. Menendez, who faces accusations of accepting “hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes” to protect a group of New Jersey businessmen and benefit the nation of Egypt, per the indictment, repeatedly made a number of Google searches questioning the going rate of gold, including once shortly after arriving home from a trip to the North African nation in October 2021.
Come on lol pic.twitter.com/dLaDPcyziH
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) September 22, 2023
"The next day, MENENDEZ performed a web search for 'how much is one kilo of gold worth,'" read the document, referencing Menendez and his wife’s recent return to the United States.
Yet this was far from an isolated incident. The lawmaker, who is set to step down from his role as chair of the Senate’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee, allegedly made similar searches on a few other occasions, including looking up “kilo of gold price” in late January 2022.
NEW: Sen. Bob Menendez will step down from his role on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 22, 2023
"This is a rule as part of the Senate Caucus. If you are under indictment, you cannot serve as the chair of a Committee," @ryanobles reports. pic.twitter.com/1cKYwL1wdA
Though gold bars are said to have played a role in this alleged scheme, the precious metal wasn’t the only way Menendez was purportedly paid out.
“Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,” the indictment continued.
Menendez, however, has remained steadfast through these claims, appearing to deny the allegations against him and his wife.
"Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. Senator and serve with honor and distinction,” he said, per the New York Post. “Even worse, they see me as an obstacle in the way of their broader political goals.”
Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez issues statement saying, “Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. Senator and serve with honor and distinction.” pic.twitter.com/bGDiGmC3y9
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) September 22, 2023
But whether these accusations are true or part of a larger conspiracy, one thing is certain — not all that glitters is gold, a list that includes but is not limited to, handcuffs, cold, cold prison bars, and the sheen of a locked iPhone screen after a dubious Google search.
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