The senator’s chief of staff said Menendez never requested a call with the president and the message was passed on internally at the White House that the call was not to happen.
Julio Cortez/AP, FILESen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks during an event kicking off his campaign for re-election at Union City High School in Union City, N.J. on March 28, 2018.
But the official told ABC News the call went through anyway.
While recounting the experience on his “Stuttering John” podcast, Melendez said he was connected directly to Trump by his son-in-law Jared Kushner. He claims he also had a conversation with Kushner claiming to be Melendez’s assistant and using an English accent.
(MORE: Comedian claims he prank called President Trump )
On a flight back from a rally in North Dakota on Thursday, the president had a conversation about immigration and his Supreme Court Justice short list with the comedian that he recorded, according to the official.
“I want to be able to take care of this situation every bit as much as everyone else,” Trump said on immigration.
Charles Sykes/Invision/APJohn Melendez attends the premiere of “Gotti” at the SVA Theatre on June 14, 2018, in New York.
Melendez then tried to influence the president on his Supreme Court short list, telling him that he would support a vote for his pick as long as they weren’t “too conservative.”
“Yeah. Well, we will talk to you about it. We’re going to probably make a decision, Bob, over the next two weeks,” Trump replied.
Bragging about his feat, Melendez said on his podcast, “This just shows you how easy it is to infiltrate the White House.”
The White House official acknowledged that the episode caused embarrassment internally and that they’re looking into the matter.
A White House spokesperson declined to comment.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
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