The White House has launched an internal review of how a call from comedian John Melendez was linked to President Donald Trump, a senior White House official told ABC News.
Interested by Donald Trump
Confirming the authenticity of a call between the president and a former Howard Stern sidekick, the White House official said the Legislative Affairs Office contacted Senator Bob Menendez of the New York office. Jersey after the White House standard was informed of the call.
The senator's chief of staff stated that Menendez had never asked to be contacted by the president and that the message had been sent to the White House internally, according to which the call was not to take place.
Julio Cortez / AP, DOSSIER
Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., speaks at an event giving the kickoff of his campaign for reelection to Union City High School in Union City, NJ on March 28, 2018.
But the Official told ABC News that the call was still forwarded.
While recounting the experience on his podcast "Stuttering John," Melendez said that he was directly connected to Trump by his stepson Jared Kushner. He claims to have also had a conversation with Kushner claiming to be Melendez's assistant and using an English accent.
On a return flight from a rally in North Dakota on Thursday, the President had a conversation about immigration and his short list of the Supreme Court of Justice with the comedian who was not there. he recorded, according to the official.
"I want to be able to take care of this situation as much as everyone else," Trump said on immigration.
Charles Sykes / Invision / AP
John Melendez attends the premiere of "Gotti" at the SVA Theater, New York, June 14, 2018.
Melendez then tried to influence the president on his list restricted from the Supreme Court, telling him that he would support a vote for his choice as long as they would not be "too conservative". "
"Yes, let's talk about it, we're probably going to make a decision, Bob, over the next two weeks," Trump replied.
Boasting of his feat, Melendez said on his podcast, "This shows you how easy it is to infiltrate the White House."
The White House official acknowledged that the episode has caused embarrassment internally and that they are addressing the issue.
Confirming the authenticity of a call between the president and a former Howard Stern sidekick, the White House official said the Legislative Affairs Office contacted Senator Bob Menendez of the New York office. Jersey after the White House standard was informed of the call.
Charles Sykes / Invision / AP 