‘Completely Smitten’: Ana Navarro Seemingly Pins Bob Menendez’s Legal Troubles On His Wife

“I don’t excuse him, I don’t justify, because Bob is one of the smartest people in Congress,” Navarro added. “It is a low bar but he really is one of the smartest people I’ve worked with in Congress. I think there needs to be more regulation of family members lobbying, because it’s not just Bob Menendez’s wife, it’s siblings, it’s spouses, it’s all of this thing, and they do have an advantage that other people don’t have and a lot of lobbying firms have them on the firm and they don’t even work. They don’t even show up.”

Menendez and his wife allegedly received cash and gold bars from three New Jersey businessmen in return for aiding the Egyptian and Qatari governments, according to the indictment. Menendez’s wife also allegedly received a new Mercedes-Benz automobile after the senator tried to interfere with a criminal probe in New Jersey, according to the indictment.

Menendez announced he would step down “temporarily” as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee in the wake of the indictment. The senator faced trial in 2017 over corruption allegations that ended with a hung jury.

He further announced that he would not be running for re-election as a Democrat, but added that he was “hopeful” for a potential bid as an Independent candidate.

“This case to me feels different than the first case, and I did tell you the first time I read about this case, I think this woman – I think Bob was completely smitten and enamored, a lone wolf for a long time,” Navarro said.