Ivanka Trump’s Former Lawyer Has a New Client: Letitia James

New York attorney general Letitia James became the latest target of Donald Trump’s Justice Department on Thursday when she was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution for allegedly claiming a home in Norfolk, Virginia was her second residence. James has denied the allegations; in a statement, her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the case “is being driven by President Trump’s desire for revenge,” and vowed to “fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.” If the claims against James sound familiar, it’s probably because they’re very similar to the ones brought against Dr. Lisa Cook, the Fed Board of Governors member Trump is trying to oust. And if James’s lawyer sounds familiar, it’s probably because he is also representing Cook. Oh, and his past clients have included Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Herewith, a primer on the go-to defense attorney.

Wait, wait, wait, before we get to Lowell, what’s going on with James?

James was indicted by a grand jury in Virginia on Thursday, and charged with mortgage fraud, having allegedly claimed that a house in Norfolk, Virginia was her second home—which allowed her to obtain more favorable loan terms—but which she rented out. Prosecutors claim James saved $18,933 with the lower interest rate. If convicted, she could face up to 30 years in prison and pay a fine up to $1 million for each count. (Similarly, Cook was charged with allegedly claiming two different homes were her primary residence, allegations she has denied, and which appear to be rapidly falling apart.) In August, attorney general Pam Bondi appointed a “special attorney” to investigate claims against James brought by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte—who, in that same capacity, alleged wrongdoing by Cook. After prosecutors concluded they did not have sufficient evidence to win a conviction against James, and the acting US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia resigned under pressure from the president, Trump named one of his former personal attorneys, Lindsey Halligan, as acting prosecutor, despite the fact she has…no prosecutorial experience. In her short time on the job, Halligan first brought charges against former FBI director James Comey, and then James.

Good lord.

Good lord is right.

What has James said about all this?

In a video posted on X, James—who brought a civil fraud case against Trump that resulted in him being found liable and being barred from running a business in New York for three years—declared, “These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.”

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And then she hired Lowell?

Actually, she hired Lowell a number of months ago, and in April, he wrote a letter to AG Bondi cautioning her against taking political retribution against James, writing in part:

“I represent New York State Attorney General Letitia James and have reviewed U.S. Federal Housing Director William Pulte’s April 14, 2025 letter titled (in bold and italics), ‘Criminal Referral.’ I write to address the latest act of improper political retribution-this time directed at Ms. James-publicly instigated and endorsed by President Trump. The stunning hypocrisy of President Trump’s complaint that the Justice Department had been ‘politicized’ and ‘weaponized’ against him is laid bare as he and others in his Administration are now asking you to undertake the very same practice. This so-called ‘Criminal Referral,’ which recycles long-disproven allegations and is ‘[based on media reports’ lacks any credible foundation. Having one of the President’s aides shout to reporters that ‘[s]he is guilty of multiple, significant, serial criminal violations’ is no substitute for the facts.

Who else has Lowell represented?

After leaving the law firm Winston & Strawn, Lowell started Lowell & Associates earlier this year, where his clients have included numerous targets of the Trump administration:

Miles Taylor, the former Homeland Security official and Trump critic
Attorney Mark Zaid, who had his security clearance revoked by Trump
DOJ officials fired for working on January 6 cases
A California union leader reportedly arrested while protesting ICE raids
FBI officials who were reportedly fired after conflicts with the administration
Susan Monarez, the CDC director who was fired for not going along with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s dangerous changes to vaccine policy (RFK Jr. told the Senate he fired her for being “untrustworthy”)
Former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, who had his house raided by the FBI in August

During an interview in July, Lowell said of his cases: “They all stand for the proposition of something completely unprecedented. Which is the full power of the federal government being pointed in the direction of… individual people in the United States who happen to be adverse to this administration’s policies or who have criticized them…It’s extraordinary.” Of Bondi, he said: “I don’t think there’s been an attorney general that has been willing to carry out the president’s wrongdoing as much as Pam Bondi has since John Mitchell with President Nixon.”

Before he started his own firm, Lowell also represented Hunter Biden in the former first son’s criminal cases. (Biden was convicted for the illegal purchase of a firearm and pleaded guilty to tax evasion.) Previous clients have also included, among others, former Democratic senator Bob Menendez, former US senator and presidential hopeful John Edwards. He also served as counsel for House Judiciary Committee Democrats during Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment proceedings.

And he was Jared and Ivanka’s lawyer too??

Sure was. Lowell represented the former first daughter and son-in-law during the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, for which the couple was not indicted. “It caused a firestorm inside the White House when Jared and Ivanka hired Abbe Lowell, but it was smart, because you couldn’t get a guy who was more dialed into that D.C.-D.O.J. revolving door and the Democratic establishment,” former Trump adviser Stephen Bannon later told The New York Times.

That must be awkward for Javanka considering—

Considering that Lowell has said, “What President Trump and the people who carry out his mandate—it makes George Orwell’s 1984 look like a mother goose nursery rhyme. I mean, it is just beyond comprehension?” Yeah, it must be! (To be clear, Lowell is no longer their lawyer.)