Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is facing federal corruption and bribery charges, accused of accepting bribes from wealthy businessmen in New Jersey and performing favors in return, including meddling in criminal investigations and taking actions benefiting Egypt and Qatar.
Comedian Jon Stewart's Corruption Tirade Targets Senator Menendez
Comedian Jon Stewart has vehemently criticized Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), accusing him of "f------ awful" crimes in a segment on corruption titled, "How Dumb Is You?"
Stewart condemned Menendez's alleged acceptance of bribes from three wealthy businessmen in New Jersey, saying, "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 performing various favors in return for the bribes, including meddling in criminal investigations and taking actions beneficial to the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Stewart also criticized insider trading in Congress, which the legislative body has yet to vote on, describing former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as one of the "biggest beneficiaries" of this practice.
Stewart pointed to a $2 billion investment Jared Kushner's company received from Saudi Arabia and highlighted the questionable circumstances surrounding Hunter Biden's appointment to the Burisma board.
"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, referring to Menendez's gold bars-for-favorable-legislation scheme.
Stewart emphasized that while Menendez's alleged actions are blatantly corrupt, the status quo of government patronage and influence is not fundamentally different.
"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 asked.
Jury selection for Menendez's second federal corruption trial in a decade began on Monday. He will stand trial alongside two of the three businessmen he is alleged to have accepted bribes from.
Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty, announced that he would not be seeking re-election as a Democrat in November, but did not rule out a run as an independent.
