Ana Navarro, cohost of The View, said she is "shaken" by the accusations against Democratic senator Bob Menendez (N.J.), who is accused of peddling his influence in exchange for bribes.
"I can tell you I have worked with him time and time again, brought many wealthy clients to him, brought many issues in front of him," Navarro said Monday. "Never has there been any hint of impropriety. Never has he hinted about a payback or anything like that."
She said the news about Menendez, whom she said she's known for almost 30 years, is "personally hard" for her and that she is "shaken."
"When I saw all the evidence. … I’m shaken," Navarro said. "I’m hoping against hope that there is some sort of logical explanation."
Menendez is accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes, in the form of gold bars, cash, and a luxury car, in return for helping the Egyptian government and his associates.
Prosecutors allege that the senator shared "sensitive" federal information with foreign entities. He also allegedly pushed bureaucrats in the Department of Energy, State Department, and U.S. attorney’s office to benefit his associates with business contracts and "disrupt" a fraud investigation by the federal government.
Menendez also allegedly "secretly edited and ghost-wrote" a letter on behalf of the Egyptian government.
He recently hired the same lawyer representing Hunter Biden in his tax and firearm charges.