I say "once again" because Menendez was indicted in 2015 for advocating on behalf of a donor friend's business interests; the Senate's Ethics Committee also admonished the Senator in 2018 for taking gifts.  Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in many people's eyes, accepted gifts inappropriately, and so has Menendez, who's been "around" numerous "fishy" situations.

 

There's a reason why many of his fellow Senators are calling for him to resign, including casual Sen. John Fetterman.

 

It is not a surprise that Menendez would deny all accusations, but color me surprised when, during his press conference, New Jersey's "best" invoked his Cuban heritage as an explanation for having $500,000 in cash, as well as gold bars in his house.  Money that allegedly has DNA evidence of the person who allegedly bribed him.

 

Apparently, Fidel Castro's communist Cuba, a place Menendez's parents fled before he was born, was the reason the Senator claims he took large amounts of money from his savings and hoarded it in his house.  

 

Menendez seemed to be blaming his Cuban culture for his financial faux pax.

 

A Cuban New Jersey resident told CBS News that what Menendez did was not unusual in his community, as there is major distrust of the government.

 

What that person didn't seem to acknowledge is that Menendez is part of the government.  He's been a Senator for a couple of decades now.  He knows the rules.

 

Castro's been dead since 2016.  It's hard to connect him to this.

 

Even Latina Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is advising Menendez to step down.