In Defense Of Bob Menendez: Who Among Us Has Not Googled, ‘How Much Is 1 Kilo Of Gold Worth?’ | EUROtoday

It’s been nearly two weeks since Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was indicted on bribery feesand he’s made it clear that he’s not going anyplace.

He says he’s achieved nothing unsuitable. That he isn’t going to resign from the Senate; the truth is, he plans to run for reelection. He says he has a superbly cheap rationalization for the allegations that he accepted money, gold and a Mercedes-Benz in alternate for aiding the Egyptian authorities and a trio of New Jersey businessmen. That $480,000 in money stuffed in envelopes and clothes hidden throughout his home? Obviously he was simply holding that cash available in case of an emergency.

Maybe he’s proper. Maybe for U.S. senators, it’s completely regular to have $100,000 value of gold bars mendacity round the home.

And actually, who amongst us has not, as Menendez allegedly did, googled, “How much is one kilo of gold worth?”

“I have not,” mentioned Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.). “I’ve never even seen a gold bar.”

He was proud to say that he has seen gold cash, although.

“A friend of mine’s father, he gave me one-tenth of an ounce of little coins,” Hickenlooper mentioned. “I can tell you, those were worth about $102, $104, in 1995.”

“Wait, what?” mentioned Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), who didn’t know what HuffPost was speaking about after which figured it out. He mentioned he didn’t have gold bars at residence.

“I don’t think I have ever seen a bar of gold,” he mentioned.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) mentioned he’s by no means even considered googling how a lot gold is value. Without naming names, he mentioned it was unusual to suppose that right here in 2023, anybody could be allegedly accepting bribes that embrace precise bars of gold.

“I never have seen a bar of gold, no,” Cramer mentioned. “I keep wondering, how does a guy get offers like this in this job?”

The indictment towards Menendez, which was introduced by federal prosecutors in New York, alleges that he “engaged in a corrupt relationship” with New Jersey businessmen, by which Menendez and his spouse allegedly took a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars} in bribes in alternate for official acts to “enrich” the businessmen and help the Egyptian authorities.

Menendez was beforehand indicted on unrelated bribery fees in 2015. That case — which Menendez on the time referred to as “dead wrong” — resulted in a hung jury in 2017, and a decide dismissed it a 12 months later.

Several Democratic senators didn’t even need to indulge HuffPost’s query about gold bars, particularly as a result of it’s foolish, and to snigger at it — which senators in each events did — is to acknowledge how damning it’s that their very own colleague allegedly repeatedly googled the worth of gold earlier than being indicted on corruption fees involving plenty of gold bars.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who just isn’t one of many dozens of Senate Democrats who has referred to as on Menendez to resign, ducked right into a Senate elevator when requested in regards to the normalcy of getting bars of gold at residence.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who additionally just isn’t calling on Menendez to go, mentioned one thing about New Jersey voters needing to resolve if they need him to resign, in response to a query in regards to the gold bars. Then she rode off in a Senate subway.

“I’m on the Ethics Committee. I never talk about anything that may come before the Ethics Committee,” mentioned Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). “I have an easy rule here, where I just say, if it may come before the ethics committee, I don’t talk about it.”

OK, however have you ever ever googled how a lot a kilo of gold is value?

“I’m not answering that!” he mentioned with amusing.

After looking out excessive and low, it seems that not less than one senator has searched on-line to be taught in regards to the worth of gold: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). He was the primary senator to name on Menendez to resign, has mentioned he would vote to expel him from the Senate and has repeatedly criticized him for not leaving, saying his “level of arrogance is just astonishing.”

“Yes. I did that after [Menendez] did,” Fetterman mentioned. “I was going to buy my own gold bar, you know? So I could either go to his contacts or buy one at Costco.”

“But if I did get one, it’s not going to go in my mattress,” he mentioned.

Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) was the primary high Democrat in his state to name on Menendez to resign after being indicted. Last week, because it grew to become clear that the New Jersey senator isn’t stepping down, Kim introduced that he’ll problem Menendez for his seat in 2024.

On a Thursday press name with progressives, he advised HuffPost that the element in regards to the gold bars is “capturing a lot of people’s attention here in New Jersey.”

“Who has these around their house?” Kim requested. “The fact that this is even in our lexicon right now, something that has been googled, shows how out of touch this whole situation is…We certainly need the answers to all of this.”

He mentioned he’s by no means googled the worth of gold, both, or seen a bar of gold in particular person.

“I don’t actually know how large they are,” mentioned Kim.

Menendez nonetheless hasn’t defined why he had gold bars mendacity round at residence. He wished to be ready for attainable emergencies, sure, after all, however within the type of gold bars?

HuffPost unexpectedly ran into Menendez final Thursday morning as he headed into the Senate constructing. Nobody was round. He unusually didn’t have any of his aides with him. For a very good 45 seconds, it was simply him and HuffPost.

So we requested crucial query to ask a person on the heart of an indictment scandal, whose Senate seat, ought to it fall into the palms of the opposite occasion, might flip management of the chamber to Republicans.

“Senator, why did you google, ‘How much is a kilo of gold worth?’”

“Well, you’ll find out at trial,” Menendez mentioned cheerfully, attempting to rush inside.

“The press would like me to go ahead and lay out my whole defense in the public forum,” he mentioned, slipping into the constructing. “It’s not going to happen.”

Anyway, 1 kilogram of gold is value $58,527as of Thursday.