Democrat U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is facing the rest of his life in jail if convicted of charges brought against him, former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax on Friday.
Federal prosecutors on Thursday submitted a rewritten indictment against Menendez and his wife to charge them with conspiring to have him act as an agent of Egypt and Egyptian officials.
"He's been charged with conspiracy to be a foreign agent, not being a foreign agent — that's a radical difference," Napolitano told "Wake Up America" host Rob Finnerty. "The government was brilliant in the way they crafted this, in my view, because it is far easier to prove a conspiracy, which is just an agreement, than to prove actual agency.
"If they were going to have to prove actual agency they'd have to bring in Egyptian foreign agents to New York City to testify against Sen. Menendez, and that would materially disrupt the relations between Egypt and the United States. They don't want to do that.
"How much time is he facing? The rest of his life in jail. He's 69 years old. He's facing 20 years, 20 if convicted."
The new charge comes just weeks after Menendez, former chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife were accused of accepting bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen who wanted the senator to influence foreign affairs. The couple have pleaded not guilty.
"The superseding indictment is just a new indictment that reincorporates the charges in the original indictment, but adds one more charge, which in this case … is the conspiracy to act as a foreign agent," Napolitano said. "So, the allegation is that he actually, as a sitting U.S. senator, became an agent for Egypt and did favors for Egypt.
"What were those favors? Well, he gave the names and identifying information of all Americans working and living in the U.S. embassy in Cairo. Now that information is technically not classified, but it's still secret and it could be harmful. We don't know why he gave that, but he gave that to an Egyptian intelligence agent."
The judge also pointed out Menendez's role as committee chair.
"Even if Congress has authorized foreign aid to a country, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — of which Sen. Menendez was until he stepped down — can hold up that aid on his or her own," Napolitano told Finnerty.
"So the allegation is Sen. Menendez held up on the aid … which, in this case, was ammunition for Egyptian military weapons. He held up on that aid until intelligence agents paid Egyptian businessmen in Bergen County, N.J., who paid Mrs. Menendez. So, stated differently, until he received a bribe."
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.