Fox News host Jesse Watters seemed thrilled this week to call attention to the alleged acceptance of bribes by Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez. Watters repeatedly tried to connect the senator’s behavior with that of Hunter Biden while also insinuating illegal activity by President Joe Biden. Menendez, also chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been charged with accepting bribes for exerting his influence to help businesspeople and the government of Egypt.
Watters took his first sideswipe at Biden and son Hunter by saying, “But instead of sending the bribes through a maze of shell companies like the Bidens, Menendez got gold bars delivered to his house.”
There has yet to be evidence presented that President Biden accepted bribes or broke any laws, but son Hunter has faced charges for tax crimes. Watters questioned why the Biden administration is choosing to pursue Menendez now.
Mendendez and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, according to prosecutors. The charges include bribery, fraud and extortion. The FBI found approximately $500,000 in cash at Menendez’s home, as well as a large quantity of gold and a Mercedes-Benz.
“So, you can see the Bidens now snickering at ‘Gold Bar Bob’ — ‘Can you believe this guy?’” Watters said.
He continued, noting, “The FBI found $500,000, in cash, stuffed in official Sen. Menendez windbreakers, hanging in his closet. ‘What’s that doing there?’ Was it too lumpy under your mattress?”
But this was all found in a raid on Menendez’s home that took place last year, so Watters wanted to know why it was only coming to light now.
“Menendez has been walking around Washington knowing Biden’s agents have a stack of his gold bars, ready to drop at any minute. God, Biden must have been squeezing Bob,” Watters said. “And then they drop these gold bars on Menendez a week before the Joe Biden impeachment inquiry opens into bribery. Is this so that they can say, ‘Now that’s real bribery over there’?”
A number of Democratic politicians have called for Menendez to resign.
The host continued his speculation, saying, “Joe Biden was never caught with gold bars and cash up into his windbreaker. And you know this was a partisan prosecution, because the Southern District of New York indicted Gold Bar Bob, not the U.S. attorney in New Jersey.”
Watters went on to question whether Menendez was “just a thorn in Biden’s side,” noting that Menendez was previously indicted for bribery in another case under the Barack Obama administration while Joe Biden served as vice president — but Menendez escaped a conviction thanks to a hung jury.
The Fox News host also noted Menendez has disagreements with Biden on foreign affairs, citing Menendez’s more conservative stances on those issues. Watters included a shot at Biden’s support for Israel, claiming that Menendez loves Israel while Biden’s attitude is “Eh, not so much.”
“So Menendez is cooked, and President Biden has a wider lane in foreign affairs now,” Watters claimed. “But, we’re getting to know Joe Biden, aren’t we? He sees an obstacle, and he doesn’t move around it — he removes it.”
Watters displayed a graphic of former President Donald Trump, Menendez, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Elon Musk.
“Trump, indicted,” Watters began. “Menendez, indicted. Mini-Madoff — took the money, indicted. Elon Musk, investigated four times — the indictment’s coming.”
Watters expanded, adding, “You’re unvaxxed, you’re fired. Biden’s cagier than we give him credit for. He did exactly what Bob Menendez did, but every time investigators got close, they were obstructed. Hunter was tipped off, and the CIA and the FBI covered for him.”
At the end of the segment, Watters concludes, “So what’s the difference between a Menendez and a Biden? Nobody effs with a Biden.”
Earlier in the segment, Watters traced the scandal back to the senator’s wife, Nadine.
“Gold Bar Bobby proposed at the Taj Mahal in India — classic Bob move,” Watters said.
In a song choice that may seem extra unfortunate at this time, Menendez proposed with a song from “The Greatest Showman.” Watters played a clip that includes the senator singing, “Towers of gold are still too little. These hands could hold the world, but it’ll never be enough.”
Continuing, Watters stated, “And it was never enough for Nadine. She wanted more, more, more.”
Watters detailed the story of how the senator’s wife apparently introduced Menendez to a group of Egyptians, including dining out together, before taking a trip to Egypt and meeting with Egyptian intelligence and military officials.
“Now, as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Gold Bar Bob held sway over arms packages and foreign aid. Gold Bar was leveraging billions in American aid in exchange for family bribes and no-show jobs,” Watters said. “Now, where have I heard that before? Just like the Bidens, their text messages, Gold Bar Bob also tried shutting down investigations into the business partners who were bribing him.”
Watters showed a text from Menendez to his wife, which read, “I am going to sign off this sale to Egypt today.”
“Menendez was trying to plant the right prosecutor in office to look the other way so that the money would keep flowing. God, it just sounds so familiar,” Watters said, again making a not-so-subtle jab at the Bidens without providing specific evidence.
“And, the whole time he was compromised by foreign agents, he was accusing other people of being foreign agents,” Watters said, followed by a clip of Menendez talking about Donald Trump potentially being a Russian intelligence asset.
“Menendez was an agent of Egypt, accusing Trump of being an agent of Russia,” Watters summarized.
Watters opened the segment all too happy to bring up the propensity of New Jersey politicians for corruption, with text along the bottom of the screen reading “NJ POLITICIANS LOVE TO BE BRIBED.” He cited Robert “The Torch” Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat who served in the Senate from 1997 until 2003 before dropping out of a re-election campaign after a campaign finance scandal involving lavish gifts.
You can watch the full clip above, if you’d like to see Watters dive deeper into what he believes is a full-fledged conspiracy by the Bidens and continuing to equate the Menendez couple and the Bidens.
