“The View” host Ana Navarro called the allegations against long-time friend Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) “serious” and “troubling” as she explained that he’s “entitled to a presumption of innocence” amid multiple corruption charges.
The ABC talk show host wrote to her 1.9 million followers on Monday in a post on X about how she knows Menendez — after working “with him on countless issues” — as the senator faces multiple felonies after he was indicted on bribery charges. He faces charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, as previously reported.
“These are serious, troubling allegations,” Navarro’s post read. “It doesn’t look good. But Bob is entitled to a presumption of innocence. The people of NJ will decide his political future.”
“A jury will decide his legal fate,” she added. “Corruption, on all sides, in all branches and levels of government, must be eradicated – whether friend or foe.”
I know Menendez. I’ve worked with him on countless issues. These are serious, troubling allegations. It doesn’t look good. But Bob is entitled to a presumption of innocence. The people of NJ will decide his political future. A jury will decide his legal fate. Corruption, on all… pic.twitter.com/roleRCwzyo
— Ana Navarro-Cárdenas (@ananavarro) September 25, 2023
Navarro’s post included a video from her comments she made earlier in the day on the daytime talk show in which she shared she admitted talking about the allegations against her friend was “not easy” for her.
“I have worked with him on many, many issues,” the co-host said. “There is not an important issue to the Latino community, there is not an important issue about freedom around the world, about freedom in Latin America that he has not been on the forefront of.”
“I can tell you I have worked with him time and time again … never has there been any hint of impropriety,” she added. “Never has he hinted about a payback or anything like that.”
“So, I’m having a very hard time reconciling the evidence I saw shown on TV with the Bob Menendez I have known for almost 30 years,” Navarro continued. “This is personally hard for me … I’m hoping against hope that there is some sort of logical explanation.”
The TV host said as hard as it’s been for her to see the allegations, she also knows Menendez and said he’s not “going to resign” and is “going to go to trial on this.”
“This looks ugly,” she added. “This looks bad. This is hard to explain. I can’t come up with an explanation. But I do think that there is a bigger problem here than Bob Menendez.”
“The problem here is Bob Menendez wife cashing in on his name,” Navarro continued. “Or [President] Joe Biden’s son [Hunter Biden] cashing in on his name … at some point Congress needs to get a hold of this swampiness going on and… deal with the idea that they can’t just have their stupid family members making money off their own name.”
The senator was previously indicted in 2015 on federal corruption charges, but that case ended in a mistrial two years later.