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Lawyers for Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) have argued that the large quantities of gold and cash found by police during a search warrant on his home are a result of generational trauma, not evidence of corruption.
This comes after Menendez was charged last year, along with his wife and two business partners, for allegedly selling political influence in exchange for substantial sums of money, including $480,000 in cash and 13 gold bars.

In recent court filings, Menendez’s lawyers requested testimony from a psychologist to explore Menendez’s psychological background, arguing that his hoarding is a coping mechanism rooted in unresolved trauma. In the filing, his lawyers wrote that a psychologist is “expected to testify that Senator Menendez suffered intergenerational trauma stemming from his family’s experience as refugees, who had their funds confiscated by the Cuban government and were left with only a small amount of cash that they had stashed away in their home.” They added that Senator Menendez “experienced trauma when his father, a compulsive gambler, died by suicide after Senator Menendez eventually decided to discontinue paying off his father’s gambling debts.”
Prosecutors, however, are skeptical of this approach, suggesting it aims to sway the jury by eliciting sympathy for Menendez’s family experiences.
This defense strategy follows Menendez’s earlier attempts to rationalize the hoarding behavior as a common practice among immigrant families preparing for emergencies. Despite these explanations, both Menendez and his wife maintain their innocence, pleading not guilty to all charges. Their trial is set to begin on May 13.