Sen. Menendez accused of representing Qatar and Egypt
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram has the latest on the federal corruption and bribery allegations against Sen. Menendez on 'Special Report.'
Comedian Jon Stewart called out former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and Hunter Biden during a segment on Monday focused on corruption titled, "How Dumb Is You?"
Stewart first took aim at Menendez, and said his alleged crimes were "f------ awful," adding, "You, sir, are an elected official in America’s most respected legislative body. It’s like a license to print money. You don’t need to break the law so cartoonishly when the legal corruption in the Senate is so f------ lucrative."
Menendez is accused of accepting bribes from three wealthy businessmen in New Jersey and performing a variety of favors in return, including meddling in criminal investigations and taking actions benefiting the governments of Egypt and Qatar. Stewart also took aim at insider trading in Congress, which the legislative body has yet to vote on.
The comedian described Pelosi as one of the "biggest beneficiaries" of their ability to trade stocks before showing video of the former speaker of the House saying members of Congress should not be banned from trading stocks and should be allowed to participate in the "free market."
Comedian Jon Stewart takes aim at Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Bob Menendez and Hunter Biden during a "Daily Show" segment on corruption. (Screenshot/TheDailyShow)
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"Here’s the thing. In a free market, everyone has access to the same information," Stewart said. "So unless you’re gonna put all of us on the committees, I don’t get it."
He then pointed to a $2 billion investment Jared Kushner's company received from Saudi Arabia, before playing a clip of the president's son being asked if he would have gotten a seat on the Burisma board if his last name wasn't "Biden." In the video, Biden replied, "Probably not."
"Out of all the senators and representatives who dodged and prevaricated and wouldn't answer any f----- questions, you know you’re in trouble when the most honest and transparent person in a story of government corruption is the ex-crackhead," Stewart joked. "Robert Menendez’s gold bars in exchange for favorable legislation is obviously cartoonishly corrupt. But for anyone out there who thinks the status quo of government patronage and influence is of an entirely different species than Menendez, how dumb is you?"
Stewart also name-dropped Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Al., and former GOP Sen. Richard Burr earlier in the segment. Burr was investigated in 2020 for a slew of stocks he sold before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the economy.
Hunter Biden departs a House Oversight Committee meeting at Capitol Hill on January 10. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
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Jury selection for Menendez' second federal corruption trial in a decade began on Monday. Menendez will stand trial alongside two of the three businessmen he is alleged to have accepted bribes from, real estate developer Fred Daibes and Wael Hana.
Menendez, Daibes and Hana have all pleaded not guilty. The third businessman, Jose Uribe, has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the others.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., departs the Senate floor in the Capitol, Sept. 28, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Menendez announced that he would not be seeking re-election as a Democrat in November, but did not rule out a run as an independent.