Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) recently hired Hunter Biden’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, to defend himself against federal bribery charges. Menendez served as Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee until stepping aside as a result of his recent indictment.
Lowell, who represents high-profile individuals engulfed in political scandals, represented Menendez in a prior corruption case in 2015, which ended in mistrial. His former client list includes former Sen. John Edwards, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Bill Clinton, and Jared Kushner.
Lowell is a Bronx native and a 1977 Columbia Law School graduate. In 1982, he ran for the Maryland House of Delegates on the Democrat ticket.
The high-powered attorney will defend Menendez against bribery charges for allegedly sharing information with Egypt in exchange for gold bars, cash, and a cushy job for his wife.
Menendez and his wife face three counts: Conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.
While Menendez gave up his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee, he refused to resign from the Senate. “The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system,” he said at a Monday press conference. “The allegations leveled against me are just that — allegations.”
A number of Democrats called for Menendez’s resignation. Those include Gov. Phil Murphy (D), Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
“The situation is quite unfortunate, but I do believe that it is in the best interest for Senator Menendez to resign in this moment,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“Consistency matters. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a Republican or a Democrat. The details in this indictment are extremely serious. They involve the nature of not just his but all of our seats in Congress.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
