That prank phone call to President Donald Trump probably became a little less funny to John Melendez over the weekend.
Former Howard Stern sidekick Melendez, popularly known as “Stuttering John,” said Sunday that the Secret Service had reached out to speak with him after the prank, during which Melendez masqueraded as New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and got through on the phone to Trump as the president was aboard Air Force One.
Melendez said that he had a meeting with the Secret Service on Monday morning, and had enlisted the help of attorney Michael Avenatti, who is representing porn star Stormy Daniels in her legal battle against Trump.
“Breaking: Secret Service contacted me [sic] agent & wants me to meet with them tomorrow,” Melendez tweeted Sunday. “Stay tuned, Avenatti, can you come with me?”
In subsequent tweets, Melendez wrote, “I am meeting with the Secret Service tomorrow at 10am. @MichaelAvenatti I need your help” and “I have just spoken to my new attorney @MichaelAvenatti who has agreed to represent me on this. Stay tuned.”
In his own tweet, Avenatti said that Trump is “wasting time” on the Melendez prank, writing, “Instead of wasting time on this, Mr. Trump should focus on the numerous other things that are of a greater priority. Let’s start with reuniting over 2,000 children with their parents immediately.”
In a previous tweet, published Saturday, Avenatti said that Trump “has made the U.S. the brunt of jokes” due to the Melendez prank.
“Imagine our adversaries in the world as they learned how easy it was for a comedian to bypass security measures and reach the president. They are rolling,” Avenatti wrote. “Once again, Mr. Trump has made the U.S. the brunt of jokes and brought embarrassment to what we are all about as a nation.”
In “The Stuttering John Podcast,” Melendez said that he called Trump on Wednesday night, and Trump later returned his call from Air Force One, while returning from a rally in Fargo, North Dakota.
In the audio clip, Trump begins by congratulating Melendez — who he thinks is Menendez — for his acquittal in a federal corruption case. The two also discuss the families who have been separated by Trump’s immigration order and the upcoming Supreme Court vacancy that will be left when Justice Anthony Kennedy steps down from his position as associate justice at the end of July.
CNN said that a White House official confirmed the incident to one of its producers on Friday.
“I am shocked … I mean we did this as a goof, I’m a comedian,” Melendez told CNN. “I just could not believe that it took us an hour and a half to get Jared Kushner and Donald Trump on the phone from Air Force One.”
TheWrap has reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
Breaking: Secret Service contacted me agent & wants me to meet with them tomorrow. Stay tuned, Avenatti, can you come with me?
— John Melendez (@stutteringjohnm) July 1, 2018
I am meeting with the Secret Service tomorrow at 10am. @MichaelAvenatti I need your help.
— John Melendez (@stutteringjohnm) July 1, 2018
I have just spoken to my new attorney @MichaelAvenatti who has agreed to represent me on this. Stay tuned.
— John Melendez (@stutteringjohnm) July 2, 2018
Instead of wasting time on this, Mr. Trump should focus on the numerous other things that are of a greater priority. Let’s start with reuniting over 2,000 children with their parents immediately. #Basta #FightClub https://t.co/BGcDE4ChOk
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 2, 2018
Imagine our adversaries in the world as they learned how easy it was for a comedian to bypass security measures and reach the president. They are rolling. Once again, Mr. Trump has made the U.S. the brunt of jokes and brought embarrassment to what we are all about as a nation.
— Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) June 30, 2018