Jon Stewart put New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez in the hot seat over his upcoming corruption and bribery trial while highlighting the many ways other politicians use legal financial ways to engage in corruption without any checks and balances put in place.
On Monday's episode of "The Daily Show," Stewart didn't hold back, irony dripping in every word when he said, "I don't mean to get sentimental here, but in what other country in the world can a Cuban-American can work hand-to-hand with an Egyptian-born businessman to corner the halal meat market? Living in America!"
Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez were indicted for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for the senator’s influence. Stewart highlighted some of Menendez's most egregious alleged crimes, which include the senator accepting up to $100,000 worth of gold bars, $480,000 in cash, a Mercedes-Benz car and bribes from business people connected to Egypt and Qatar's governments.
Stewart pointed to a New York Times report in which Menendez's attorneys cited his "traumatic family history" for the reason that he keeps an unprecedented amount of cash in his home.
“These are simply my emotional-support gold bars,” Stewart joked. “Whenever I’m not with them, I get anxious and will respond to trauma in different ways.”
"So obvious this is shaping up to be one of the more cartoonishly blatant corruption cases in some time. Jersey guy with gold bars stuffed in his jacket and a nice freezer of halal meats. Anything else that may speak to the character of this United States Senator?" Stewart quipped.
The show clarified that Menendez has denied all allegations of wrongdoing, and according to court filings, he may even try to blame his wife.
"Yes, it's those three magic words every woman is dying to hear," Stewart quipped. "It was her!"
Stewart continued, “But perhaps the dumbest thing about this entire, not-quite-believable, 'Real Housewives' episode, is how unnecessary it all is.”
“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***ing lucrative,” the host said.
This led Stewart to introduce the show’s latest segment: “Senator Robert Menendez, ‘How dumb is you?'”
After calling Menendez "f***ing dumb," Stewart showcased many ways that the senator could have enriched himself in legal ways in America including the stock market. Stewart used California politician Alan Lowenthal, whose wife sold shares of Boeing in 2020. The next day the committee Lowenthal works on released a damning report about the 737 Max. Another example is how Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., received a "private briefing in 2020 about how bad the COVID pandemic was going to be for America and he immediately sold off his stock." Also, "Chuck Grassley netted $370,000 in farm subsidies,” Stewart added.
“At every turn, our Congress and our courts have been given a choice,” Stewart said, “Be less corrupt or redefine what constitutes corruption and get on with your bad selves. It's a game of reverse limbo. Having trouble getting under the bar of corruption we've set?” Stewart said as he raised his arms, setting a higher metaphorical bar, "Well, how about now?"
Stewart concluded, “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?”
"The Daily Show" airs Monday through Thursday at 11 p.m. on Comedy Central and streams on Paramount+
