On Monday, the Justice Department announced that Goldman Sachs had agreed to a $5 billion (that’s $5,000,000,000) settlement for their fraudulent practices between 2005 — 2007. How much wrong does a company had to have done to settle on an amount that large?

In the wake of the settlement, Bernie Sanders has rightfully doubled down on calling for Hillary Clinton to release the transcripts from the glowing speechesshe made to Goldman Sachs in which she was compensated $675,000.

TRANSCRIPT: HILLARY CLINTON MEETS NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD

When I commented on this earlier Tuesday on Twitter, a Hillary supporter said, as if the two things were equal, that she’d release the transcripts when Bernie Sanders releases his tax returns. While I am sure the Clinton campaign would not make that deal, since they appear to be completely unwilling to release the transcripts, let’s entertain this notion for a moment.

Goldman Sachs just agreed to a $5 billion settlement for their fraudulent practices between 2005 — 2007.

Bernie’s entire net worth, accumulated over his 74 years of life, is less than half of what Hillary Clinton made just in her speeches to Goldman Sachs. In 2013, Bernie’s net worth was estimated to be $330,000 — making him among the least wealthy U.S. Senators in the country.

GET CLINTON, SANDERS TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS IN NYC DEBATE

Combined, Bill and Hillary Clinton have made $153 million in speaking fees alone. In just 2013, Hillary received an astounding $9.68 million from her paid speeches.

In other words, Bernie Sanders would have to live 2,171 years to have the net worth of what Hillary made in 2013.

We’re not even talking about apples and oranges here — the disparity in their incomes warrants an altogether unique metaphor — like, for instance, a bank and a nickel, or a factory and a worker.

That we live in the age of such exorbitant corporate greed that the leading Democratic candidate gave three paid speeches to a financial firm that settled for $5 billion to right its wrongs, and she refuses to release the transcripts, is a complete and utter mess.

TRANSCRIPT: BERNIE SANDERS MEETS NEWS EDITORIAL BOARD

Now, in a sign of how far she is willing to go to duck responsibility for her speeches to Goldman Sachs, she is actually using Donald Trump as her ethical barometer. In her interview with the Daily News Editorial Board, she said she will only release the transcripts to her speeches if Donald Trump does.

Really? You are going to let him in on this? If Donald Trump takes the first step, she will follow? If it weren’t so disgusting, I would laugh.

BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS
Just to highlight the differences between these two candidates: Bernie Sanders would have to live 2,171 years to have the net worth of what Hillary made in 2013.

First off, she’s not running against Donald Trump, she’s running against Bernie Sanders.

He’s won seven states in a row, 15 overall, and has been calling for her to release these transcripts for months. We don’t even know if Donald Trump is going to be the nominee.

At the point in which Hillary Clinton is fully willing to allow all of us to assume the worst about these speeches instead of actually releasing them, we can only be left to assume that their reality is even worse than our imagination. Whatever the case, ducking and dodging on this is not just bad politics, it puts her right in line with the scoundrels who caused this mess in the first place.