How Bob Menendez Came By His Gold Bars

The New Yorker Radio Hour

WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

News, David, Books, Arts, Storytelling, Wnyc, New, Remnick, News Commentary, Yorker, Politics

4.2 • 5.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The former senator faces prison time for accepting bribes in cash and gold, and for related crimes. Then he made a thinly veiled plea to the President he had once voted to impeach.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Listener supported, WNYC Studios.
0:10.9	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour, a co-production of WNYC Studios and The New Yorker.
0:18.2	This is The New Yorker Radio Hour. I'm David Remnick.
0:22.0	In the through-the-licking glass world of Donald Trump, he's the guy who drained the swamp of corruption, even as he orders the Department of Justice to drop corruption cases and stop investigating new ones.
0:34.2	The situation with New York City Mayor Eric Adams is a case in point.
0:39.1	The Justice Department suggested they would drop serious federal charges if Adams would just
0:44.0	assist the feds on the immigration issue.
0:47.3	The mayor's attorney insisted there was never any deal, but even so, a pack of federal
0:52.0	prosecutors quit their jobs in disgust.
0:56.0	So, this too is surprising, but maybe not too surprising.
0:59.4	Weeks ago, Bob Menendez, the former New Jersey senator known as Gold Bar Bob for the golden cash tucked away in his house,
1:07.0	was sentenced to 11 years in prison on corruption charges.
1:11.0	Menendez walked out of the courtroom and directly made a plea to guess who.
1:16.3	President Trump is right.
1:18.2	This process is political and it's corrupted to the core.
1:23.0	I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system.
1:28.9	You're a Democrat that he's brought by Democrats.
1:35.1	How is this a witch hunt?
1:36.9	How is this a witch hunt?
1:39.9	How did Bob Menendez, who voted to impeach Donald Trump, end up begging him for a get-out-of-jail card.
1:47.0	We turn to WNYC's reporter Nancy Solomon, who's been covering New Jersey politics for many years,
1:54.0	so Nancy, if so facto, knows a thing or two about corruption.
	...

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