Menendez calls Hugin a slimeball misogynist liar

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez on Wednesday flatly denied claims in TV ad aired by Republican Bob Hugin that, without meaningful evidence, alleged that Menendez had sex with underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic.

“This deceitful, despicable attack ad tells you everything you need to know about Republican Bob Hugin – that he’s a slimeball, he’s a misogynist and he’s a liar,” Menendez said at a press conference Wednesday. “Bob Hugin is down in the polls. He’s wrong on the issues, and he’s desperate to distract the people of New Jersey from his own shameful record.”

Hugin’s ad pushed allegations spread by an anonymous tipster using the moniker Pete Williams, an apparent reference to former U.S. Senator Harrison “Pete” Williams, Jr. who was convicted for taking bribes in 1981, that claimed Menendez slept with prostitutes, some of whom were underage, during trips to a villa owned by Salomon Melgen in the Dominican Republic.

Hugin’s ad quotes an affidavit written by FBI special agent Gregory Sheehy, who was assigned to the case, in which the allegations were stipulated.

Read more: https://newjerseyglobe.com/congress/13249/