comedian john melendez, aka, stuttering john, released audio of what he said was his exchange with thes the president available? >> yup, one moment, sir. i'll connect your call. sir, your call is connected. >> hi, bob. >> hey, how are you? >> how are you? congratulations on everything, we're proud of you. congratulations, great job. you went through a tough, tough situation, and i don't think a very fair situation. but congratulations. >> short time ago, i had a chance to speak with john melendez, being the comedian. there are lots of questions about white house security and protocols as a result of this. walk us through how this came about. the "new york times" saying the president of the united states would seem to be a long shot target here for somebody hoping to make a prank phone call. how did you decide to do this? how did you decide it might be doable? >> well, you know, just given the fact of how disorganized the trump administration has been from the get-go, i mean, what other, you know -- administration would be susceptible to be duped so easily. me and my producer said, let'

the crazy thing, john melendez knows trump from his days on the "howard stern" radio show where trump a frequent guest. melendez tells me he's talked to the president more than 20 times and even went to lunch with donald trump and melania trump five or six years ago. they haven't talked in years but said he was shocked when the president didn't recognize it was his voice on the call, a guy with a clear likely accent and not the senator from new jersey. >> he did not recognize that it's stuttering john, a guy who he's listened to on the stern show for years. i have the worst long island accent known that man. how he cannot know that is not a real senator is beyond me. it is -- it's unbelievable. >> reporter: melendez told me the roughly four-minute phone call was relatively easy to set up. he called the white house switchboard, a number he got from google, took on a fake english accent, and pretended to be the senator's assistant. the next thing he knew, jared kushner was on the phone asking what topic he'd like to discuss with the president. >> i got on the phone with trump. trump's l

comedian john melendez says that he prank called president trump on air force one.e will play the call and get the story behind the entire snafu from melendez himself when we come back. willingham, edge of the box, willingham shoots... goooooooaaaaaaaallllllll! that...was...magic. willingham tucks it in and puts the championship to bed. sweet dreams, nighty night. as long as soccer players celebrate with a slide, you can count on geico saving folks money. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. pressure, what pressure? the players on the... and i'm still going for my best even though i live with a higher risk of stroke due to afib not caused by a heart valve problem. so if there's a better treatment than warfarin, i'm up for that. eliquis. eliquis is proven to reduce stroke risk better than warfarin. plus has significantly less major bleeding than warfarin. eliquis is fda-approved and has both. so what's next? seeing these guys. don't stop taking eliquis unless your doctor tells you to, as stopping increases your risk of having a str

jo john melendez saying he was pretending to be john menendez.e if this has to do with a resident looking to get new justice for the supreme court. >> it'll be done the next 12 to 14 days. >> the topic of immigrationle dly came up in the so-called prank call. the real senator releasing a statement saying, quote, i welcome any opportunity to have a real conversationidith the prt on how to uphold the american values that have guided our asfamily immigration policy for the past century. end quote. >>> new information this morning about the future of the supreme court. president trump says he's going to make his pick public a week from monday. five nominees on the short list, including two women. the president may be meeting with a couple candidates this weekend at his estate in new jersey. he says he will not ask the nominee beforehand about same-sex marriage or whether they would overturn roe v. wade. >>> a host of new ruling taking place on monday. ashanti alert is named after the woman kidnapped from a base in drginia and found d in north carolin

>> reporter: yeah, stuttering john melendez revealing that his team actually previously called the whitenly identified themselves, but they were told that president trump was busy and they were hung up on. this time he says he was able to get tr get through to president trump getting a call back. he says it only took about an hour and a half of time to get through to the president. he could not believe that this was taking place. he says that if anyone had asked him along the line who senator bob menendez-46 wh -- what stat was from or what party he was affiliated with, he wouldn't have been able to answer those questions can. here is more from stuttering john. >> i get a call from air force one and it is jared kushner. and i know it is jared. i'm a political news junky. i actually do watch cnn all the time and i know jared's voice and it was definitely him. and he said to me i'm going in and out of my english accent. i'm like -- i answer, hey, hello. oh, yes, hello, how you doing jared. and then he says i can get the president out of a meeting thousand or i can hanow or i can have him c

comedian john melendez saide was pretending to be senator bob me me.hite house will not confirm if it is the president. take a listen. >> we have some great choices. be done over the next 12 to 14 days. >> immigration also allegedly came up in this so called prank call. tonight the real senator says in part, i welcome any opportunity to have a real conversation with the president on how to uphold the american values that havegu ed our family based immigration policy for the past century. if the president was pranked, just how did that call get through? this couldepresent major security breach at the highest level. >> all right. thank you. >>> now to verifiedrm new inion about the future of the supreme court. president trump announcing he will make his pick public a week from monday. n fiveinees on the short list including two women. mr. trump may be meeting with a couple of candates this ekend at his estate in new jersey. the president siz he will not ask the nominee about same-sex marriage or about whether they would overturn roe v wade. s>>> the fave

ilia: el comediante john melÉndez le jugÓ una broma al presidente trump, mientras el mandatario volabare que asesinÓ a cinco periodistas en una redacciÓn de maryland habrÍa cometido el ataque en venganza por los problemas legales que tuvo con el diario. ilia: el juego duro de competencia dejÓ a feliz cena de aniversario, querida. ¿se puede lavar tanto amor con un poco de dawn ultra? oh, sí una botella tiene el poder desengrasante de tres botellas de este otro líquido. una gota de dawn y adiós a la grasa. todo comenzó cuando donald trump arrancó a miles de niños inmigrantes de los brazos de sus padres. lo demandamos en la corte y en las calles. y la presión le forzó a reconsiderar su política cruel. la corte acaba de declarar que trump tiene que reunir a cada familia que separó. y el tiempo no se detiene. estos niños deben ser reunidos con sus padres inmediatamente. y por ellos, no podemos parar nuestra lucha. locutor: noticiero univisiÓn continÚa desde la ciudad de mÉxico. ilia: el pistolero que matÓ a cinco personas en el periÓdico capital gazette en maryland planeÓ el ataque para ase

reports say yesterday podcaster john melendez sfoen as stuttering john from his time on the howard stern show perhaps you remember him called the white house pretending that he was new jersey senator bob menendez. the prankster spoke to several people including jared kushner before transferred to the president and air force 1. they spoke about grimes and the next supreme court nominee. the white house has not commented on this call. >>> and a new camp in the east bay started by a group of high school girls is inspiring a younger generation to get excited about s.t.e.m. dion lim introduces us to some remarkable young women. >> reporter: one part glue, one part detergent and a lot of girl power is the recipe not only for sliem but inspiring middle schoolers to explore and get excited about s.t.e.m. >> i wanted to create something local that could introduce girls to s.t.e.m. >> ashley chu and two friends raised money to create she stemss. using kriens, technology and engineering and math to solve real world problems. >> i've been inspired by other workshops. i was interested in finding a wa

>> reporter: the white house not commenting on this apparent prank call speaking with comedian john melendez. the alleged call raising security questions, how a prankster could get in touch with the president. also tonight, about his one on one summit with vladimir putin next month, the president says he will bring up russia's interference in the 2016 election one day after repeating putin's argument he had nothing to do with it, lester. >> peter alexander at the white house for us tonight, thank you. >>> now to our continuing series, one in five kids at risk about children and mental health. as children are diagnosed with serious problems, there is a growing crisis in this country's hospitals. there is not enough beds to accommodate those who need to be hospitalized. cynthia mcfadden has been looking into this. >> reporter: emily nevel was 7 years old and wise beyond her years. >> i like school a lot. >> reporter: what do you like? >> i like seeing people's faces and seeing people's smiles a lot. >> reporter: yeah. >> and i just love it. >> reporter: she has a cool 13-year-old sister mckenz

trump aboard air force one speak, comedian john melendez who was pretending to be senator robert menendez, the call raising questions about how a frankster could get in touch with the president. >> also this morning about that one-on-one summit with vladimir putin next month, the president saying he will bring up russia's meddling in the 2016 elections. >> let's bring in brandon and curve. let's start with you and the president's decision. on the next supreme court justice, if these candidates have been vetted, what do these interviews look like and if he doesn't plan on asking about roe v. wade, what is the deciding factor? >> it's interesting because the last time there was this supreme court vetting process, you'll remember this was really a seamless political process for this white house in the sense that they got this through relatively quickly and they were able to work with a host of the more swing vote republicans who were in charge of this. now, i've got my eye on the senate judiciary committee and some of these more centrist type of republicans, people like senator lindsey graha

john melendez known as stuttering john pretended to be democratic senator bob menendez.ut the president's upcoming supreme court nomination. take a listen. >> do you think you're going moderate or more conservative? >> i have a list of people. i have a big list of people, bob. and we'll take a look at it. and we're going to make a decision. i'll probably make it over the next couple of weeks. >> because i promise you, you will have my vote, i will help you, you know, if you don't go too conservative. you know what i'm saying? >> we'll talk to you about it. >> boris sanchez is joining me now from new jersey. everybody was listening closely there to hear what he was going to answer when he said you'll have my vote if you don't go too conservative. we'll talk about it wasn't much of a giveaway. but the president has been courting a couple female senators from his own party that may be key. is he considering any women as his nominee? >> reporter: the president yesterday during a gaggle on air force one actually confirmed that he is. he said that there was a list of 25 names

. >> here is comedian stuttering john melendez talking about how his presidential prank goes down. >>r. i know it is jared, i am a political news junky. it was definitely him. he said to me i'm going in and out of my english accent. i'm like yes, how are you doing jared, he said i can get the president out of his meeting now and call him back in a few minutes. i said please have him call me back. i knew i had to call my friend in new york to record it. now i'm getting nervous. i'm like this kane can't be happening. sure enough 20 minutes later, and then i answered with my bad long island accent. i was like let me get the senator on the phone. i was like bob, i want to congratulate you. i didn't even know he was in any legal problems. if they would have asked me what party affiliation he had or what state he represented, i would have been stumped, i had no idea. i don't know anything about senate e me lor melendez. >> i want to bring in samantha, you worked for president obama. i know you have been the person that has to patch through the calls to air force one. is it easier for someth

this is a comedian who calls himself stuttering john, john melendez. similar surnames. with that, the comedian convinced the white house switchboard that he was the real senator and left his number. he got a call back from the president and they talked about the federal justice system and politics. >> you know i have a good relationship with the party, you have a good relationship interest twith the party. and i think we have to have security at the border. we have to vo have it. you got 60& of t 60% of the cou. it is not like it is good for you or good for me. it is good to both of us. >> i understand that, but -- i'm hispanic, so i have to -- you know, i have to -- i'm sure you understand. so i have to look into my -- you know, i have to look into my people as well. you understand. >> i agree. i agree. >> the comedian says he could barely believe it worked. >> i got on the phone with trump and trump is just like bob, i want to congratulate you. i didn't even know that senator menendez was in any legal problems and really if they would have just screened me and asked m

aboard air force one wednesday night, the president was pranked by radio personality john melendez, a forum howard stern sidekick. the president apparently thought he was talking to new jersey democratic senator bob menendez. the phony caller even asked about immigration. >> they got to have security at the border. and that's a good issue for the democrats, too, bob. it's not like it's good for you or good for me. it's good for both of us. >> the authentic senator menendez used the joke to make a statement. saying i welcome any opportunity to have a real conversation with the president on how to uphold the american values. still hard to believe that such a call could actually take place. nbc hasn't been able to independently verify. can you judge if that sounds like the president. what does stand out is we've asked the white house a number of times, how did this happen? was this in fact the president's voice? they have declined to respond and certainly if it were not the president's voice, they would have ample opportunities to tell thaus it was the wrong thing. so figure this out for

. >> comedian john melendez pretended to be senator robert menendez and spoke to president trump abouttion and the supreme court without the president realizing this was all a joke. >> i'm begging you, are you going to go more moderate or do you think you're going to go more conservative? >> i have a big list of people, bob, and we'll take a look at it. and we're going to make a decision. i'll probably make it over the next couple of weeks. >> because i promise you, you will have my vote. i will help you if you don't go too conservative. you know what i'm saying? >> yeah. well, we will talk to you about it. >> how did this happen? how did it make it all the way to the president? here is national security analyst samantha who served on the national security council under president obama. welcome back. obviously, something that should be in this process to vet these calls either was not there or did not work because he got through to the president. can you identify what that is or tell us what the process is to make sure the person on the other end of the line is who they say they are? >

on the other end of the phone claim to go be a former howard stern side kik known as stuttering john melendezst of people. i have a big list of people, bob, and we'll take a look at it and we're going to make a decision. i'll probably make it over the next couple of week. >> tara palmeri, abc news, washington. >>> in lake county, firefighters are being flown in by helicopter to some of the remote areas of the ponte fire to help secure containment lines. cal fire says the wildfire has burned nearly 14,000 acres and is now 73% contained. full containment is expected next tuesday. 22 structures, some of them homes, have been destroyed. mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted. this map shows you where the fire has burned in an area near clear lake oaks. the fire started last saturday. >>> stillheadn abc mo jaz fes k off. the theme to thisyear's 34th annual event. but first, as we head to break, here is a live look outside of cow camera. you can see the sea lions you could generate yourat home.rgy, or to save energy, unplug unused appliances. do your thing, with energy upgrade california. >>>

for content for his podcast the comedian john melendez, a former howard stern sidekick, decided to call the white house and pretend he was an aide to democratic senator bob menendez of new jersey whom he claimed wanted to talk to trump. it was, frankly, not a very convincing performance. melendez the comedian gave the white house his own unblocked cell phone number and he spoke with what can charitably be called a truly horrible british accent. listen to the exchange when a white house operator called him back to verify the phone number. >> hello? >> yeah, sean moore, this is the white house operator? >> yes, how are you? >> i'm fine, i just lad to verify your phone number. i noticed it's a california area code. >> yes. >> is that a cell phone, because we don't that listed under the senator's information. >> well, it's only because we're on vacation, i -- >> oh, you're on vacation, okay, great. i just needed to clarify that. >> after that, melendez got a call from someone who very much sounds like trump who says he's calling from aboard air force one. the white house, as i said, isn't c

comedian john melendez pretended to be senator robert menendez and spoke to president trump about legislationpresident realizing this was all a joke. >> do you think you're going to go more moderate or do you think you're going go more conservative? >> i have a big list of people, bob. >> because i promise you i will help you. >> we will talk to you about it. >> cnn's senior media correspondent and host of "reliable sources" brian stel r stelter. >> he got through and called back. >> it makes me want to call the white house. maybe we can finally get an interview with the president if we can pretend to be a senator or politician. i don't know. i think this entire story has been an embarrass mnlts for the white house. there's been an acknowledgement of that only in private. calling the president. at first i want to suggest it wasn't the president's voice on the podcast, but it does really seem to be the president's voice. everyone can tune in to this prank caller's podcast and hear it for themselves as you were just playing. >>> an interesting observation is that the president wants to be acces

on the other end of the phone claiming to be a former howard stern sidekick known as stuttering john melendez. the comedian now saying he pulled a prank on the president for his stuttering john podcast. the purported president talking about his plans on immigration and his supreme court short list. >> i have a list of people. i have a big list of people, bob, and we'll take a look at it and we're going to make a decision. i'll probably make it over the next couple of weeks. >> reporter: the white house isn't commenting on this or whether that's even the president's voice on the line. we do know from a source from senator menendez's office that they reached out to find out why senator menendez reached out to the president but they said he never called. the comedian claims that he was patched through by the president's son-in-law, jared kushner. dan. >> okay. tara, thank you. lots to talk about here. so let's bring in abc news contributor and conservative commentator tara setmayer joining us from washington this morning. tara, i'll spare you the stuttering john questions and let's get straight

that's john melendez. obviously, quite similar sir names.he comedian convinced the white house switch board he was the real new jersey senator and left his number. and he soon got a call back from the president. they talked about the senator's recent encounter with the federal justice system and about politics. take a listen. >> you know, i have a good relationship with the party, a good relationship with the party. and i think we can do a real immigration bill. we have to have security at the border. we have to have it. i mean, look, you got 60% of the country, they've got to have security at the border. and that's a good issue for the democrats, too, bob. it's not like it's good for you or good for me. it's good for both of us. >> i understand that. >> no, but i -- i'm hispanic, so i have to, you know, i have to -- i'm sure you understand. so i have to, you know, i have to look into my, you know, i have to look into my people as well, you understand. >> i agree. i agree. >> the comedian says he could barely believe it worked. >> i got on t

the prankster/podcast host and former howard stern show staffer john melendez better known as stuttering claims to be new jersey democratic senator bob menendez and he appears to engage the president in a number of pressing issues, including immigration. >> we're doing them step by step. i think we could do the whole thing. i have a good relationship with the party. you have good relationship with the party. and i think we can do a real immigration bill. >> reporter: and the president's pending decision on naming a supreme court justice nominee to replace the retiring anthony kennedy. >> i will help you get -- don't go too conservative, you know what i'm saying? >> yeah. well, we will talk to you about it. we're going to probably make a decision, bob, ore -- over the next two weeks. >> reporter: at one point in the alleged conversation, the president congratulates senator menendez on his recent acquittal on corruption charges. >> you went through a tough, tough situation and not a fair situation, but congratulations. >> reporter: at one point in the alleged -- when asked to confirm if th

aboa air force one friday night, the president was panicked by radio personality john melendez, a former howard stern sidekick. >> hi, bob. >> reporter: the president apparently thought he was talking to newersey democratic senator bob menendez. the phony caller even asked about immigration. >> they've got to have security at the border, ands thagood issue for the democrats, too, bob. it's not like it's good for you or good for me, it's good for both ofteus. >> rep the authentic senator menendez used the joke to make a statement, saying, i welcome any opportunity to have a real conversation with the president onho how to american values. nbc was unable to independently confirm thatrank call, which was published on the comedian's podcast. we tried several times, asking the white house, and notably they made no attempt toateny the president's voice. chanel? craig? >> this goes wayd bey a prank phone call to the president. people nationwide are planning to protesthe president's zero tolerance policy. >> reporter: chanel, w expect according to organizers as many as 50,000 demonstrators in wa