- Senator Bob Menendez has been found guilty of accepting bribes, including gold bars and a luxury car, for political influence
- The crypto community has highlighted the irony of Menendez, a staunch crypto critic, being convicted of criminal activity
- Menendez has maintained his innocence, with sentencing scheduled for October 29
A US senator who once labeled Bitcoin “an ideal choice for criminals” was found guilty on Tuesday of accepting bribes, including gold bars and a luxury car, in exchange for political influence. Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, was handed the verdict following his trial, sparking notable reactions, particularly from the crypto community, which highlighted the irony of a staunch crypto critic being convicted of criminal activity. Menendez maintained his innocence following the verdict, with sentencing due on October 29.
Menendez Held Bitcoin Partially Responsible for Equifax Breach
Menendez co-sponsored the “Accountability for Cryptocurrency in El Salvador (ACES) Act,” which aimed to mandate the State Department to assess and mitigate risks to the US financial system posed by El Salvador’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.
Menendez discussed Bitcoin in relation to the Equifax breach in 20178, where he held it partly to blame, saying, “Because of the anonymous nature of bitcoin transactions, the digital currency is an ideal choice for criminals.” This, of course, is completely untrue; Bitcoin is far from anonymous, as many criminals have since found to their cost.
Stacy Herbert, a member of El Salvador’s National Bitcoin Office under President Nayib Bukele, pointed out the irony on X of Menendez’ predicament:
While Senator Bob Menendez was hiding bars of ill-gotten gold he had received as bribes, President Bukele was establishing the most transparent government in the world by posting El Salvador’s public bitcoin address for all the world to audit. pic.twitter.com/XKyw1FzfIT
— Stacy Herbert 🇸🇻🚀 (@stacyherbert) July 16, 2024
US Attorney Damian Williams emphasized the gravity of the case, saying, “This wasn’t politics as usual; this was politics for profit. Because Senator Menendez has now been found guilty, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”
Decades in Prison Await
Following the verdict, Menendez proclaimed his innocence outside the courthouse, stating, “I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent.” His conviction marks him as the first sitting member of Congress found guilty of acting as a foreign agent.
Menendez, who has served in Congress since 1993 and entered the Senate in 2006, has so far refused to resign despite calls from senior colleagues, including Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. His sentencing is scheduled for October 29, and he faces the possibility of decades in prison.
