Embattled U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) issued another defiant response to the federal corruption indictment against him at a press conference held Monday, but his explanation for some of the suspicious items found in a search of his home was…something else. 

Continuing to proclaim his innocence and refusing to resign his seat in the Senate, Menendez reiterated his statement that the federal claims against him are merely “allegations” but said he understood “how deeply concerning this can be.”

Menendez was indicted for a “corrupt relationship” in which he allegedly “agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes” in exchange for his power, non-public knowledge, and influence.

The timeline laid out in the indictment suggests that Menendez started up the alleged bribery scheme shortly after his previous trial for corruption charges ended in a mistrial. 

The indictment explained how, among other items such as a luxury car and gold bars, federal agents found what they say are “fruits” of the alleged bribery scheme during a search of the Menendez home — including more than $480,000 in cash, “much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe.”

In Monday’s press conference, Menendez seemed to be trying out an explanation for the nearly half-million dollars in cash found stashed around his home when he said he frequently withdraws thousands of dollars due to the “history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba.”

That apparent excuse, however, does not explain the gold bars, luxury vehicle, or other alleged “gifts” Menendez received for his participation in the bribery scheme described in the indictment.

It also, notably, does not explain how — as the indictment stated — some of the envelopes had “the fingerprints and/or DNA of Daibes,” another defendant in the federal corruption case Menendez allegedly used his “power and influence as a senator to protect and enrich.”

If Menendez is to be believed, he had hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in his home because his family faced hardship in Cuba, but it was just normal withdrawals of legally made money that somehow has the literal fingerprints and/or DNA of an individual already under legal scrutiny for his work all over it. 

The dubious appearance of that explanation is likely why Menendez took no questions from reporters after making his statement to the press on Monday, walking away as he was asked about the apparently more difficult to explain gold bars.