US Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) walks across the Senate floor for a procedural vote at the US Capitol in Washington, US September 20, 2023.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Tapped by New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has tapped Abbe Lowell, the same attorney defending Hunter Biden against his tax and weapons charges, to represent him in his federal bribery case, a prosecutors’ spokesman said.
In addition to representing President Joe Biden’s son, Lowell has an excellent track record with high-profile litigation, including Menendez’s past corruption cases.
The Democratic senator also hired Lowell when he was charged in 2015 for allegedly accepting illegal gifts from a Florida ophthalmologist. Case in point come down due to a deadlocked jury.
Lowell is the lawyer who got 2022 Matthew Grimes, an employee of former President Donald Trump’s longtime supporter Tom Barrack, was acquitted. Grimes, Barrack and others were charged with secretly acting as foreign agents for the United Arab Emirates.
Lowell also represented Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser. During Trump’s presidency, he helped Kushner get official approval for a permanent White House security clearance.
Menendez’s capture of Lowell was first reported by Law360.
Abbe Lowell arrived for the funeral of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at the Washington National Cathedral on September 1, 2018.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Both Lowell and Sen. did not respond. Menendez in a request for comment.
Menendez is expected to hold a press conference on Monday in Hudson County, New Jersey, where he began his political career, a source directly involved in the planning told NBC News.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were indicted Friday in Manhattan federal court for allegedly using their political influence to help the Egyptian government in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal gifts.
The senator and his wife are facing three charges: Conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official authority. Three New Jersey businessmen allegedly involved in the bribery transactions were also indicted on the first two counts.
In Monday’s press conference, Menendez is expected to say that he has no intention of resigning, according to a source who helped plan the event. That comes after a slew of government officials, including fellow Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, publicly called on Menendez to step down.
He has been defiant in response to those demands, denying all the allegations and saying, “I’m not going anywhere.”
The senator, his wife and their co-defendants are scheduled to appear in Manhattan federal court Wednesday morning.
