Convicted former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez fought back tears as he described his achievement as one of “breaking down barriers” and denied breaking any laws.
An emotional Menendez, who was convicted last month on 16 counts of exchanging power for large bribes, insisted he would leave a “good legacy”.
“My legacy is about breaking down barriers,” Menendez says. He spoke to a Spanish-speaking broadcaster. Translated by Noticias Univision.
“A legacy is planting a seed and having a tree that you don’t sit under. That’s a legacy. In that sense, we’ve planted a lot of seeds and we’ve planted a lot of them. I know that’s a good legacy.”
Last week, Sen. Menendez (D-N.J.) formally tendered his resignation from the Senate, likely to take his final taxpayer paycheck, and filed an appeal of his conviction.
Speaking in Spanish, Menendez, who faces up to 222 years in prison when he is sentenced on October 29, refused to show even the slightest hint of remorse and insisted he was the victim.
Menendez urged those who still support him to wait until the appeals are over and stressed that he intends to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
“You will see that there was fraud and legal negligence,” he said in an emotional and defiant tone.
“It feels hard when you’re innocent and when you know, as I know, so many times my voice has been the only one that’s been raised,” he later added, “and I know it’s a loss not to be able to raise that voice on behalf of our community.”
At the heart of his conviction were charges that he used his power and influence to interfere in U.S. government operations to benefit three businessmen and the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Authorities found evidence of the suspected bribes at the couple’s Englewood Cliffs home, including $486,471 in cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and 13 one-kilogram gold bars.
At one point, the lawyers accused Menendez’s “beautiful and tall” wife, Nadine, of “giving him no notice” about the conspiracy with her business associates. Nadine also faces similar charges, but her trial will be postponed to a later date because she has been diagnosed with cancer.
During the period in question, Menendez held a powerful position on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but resigned as chairman last year following his bribery indictment.
Following his conviction, Menendez was left without any allies in the U.S. Senate. Nearly the entire Senate Democratic caucus and New Jersey’s Democratic leaders, including Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have called for him to resign.
The three-term Democrat’s post-conviction interview illustrates his tendency to turn to identity politics in legal quandaries.
Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants, became the first Latino to serve as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and he cited his ethnicity when the indictment was first released last September.
“The people behind this campaign just can’t accept that a first-generation Latino from a poor family could rise to become a United States senator,” Menendez said at the time.
Menendez had filed paperwork to run again as an independent for the seat he has held since 2006 after it became clear he would not beat Rep. Andy Kim (D-New Jersey) in the Democratic primary, but then withdrew.
He was charged with bribery in an unrelated case in 2017 but was acquitted after a jury failed to reach a unanimous decision.
The Garden State Democrat claims he too finds comfort in God.
“If God delivered Daniel from the lion’s den, parted the Red Sea for Moses and gave Sarah a child, then all things are possible with God,” he said.
