While Hunter Biden was allegedly selling access to and influence with his father, he also allegedly received massive payments. His associate Devon Archer told Congress that they were selling the Biden family “brand,” and that Joe Biden was “the brand.”

Like Menendez, Hunter Biden allegedly received a luxury car from his foreign clients. For the senator, the Justice Department says it was a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz. For the president’s son, investigators say it was a $142,000 Fisker sports car.

Menendez allegedly received gold bars worth up to $120,000. Biden received a diamond allegedly worth $80,000.

Indeed, the alleged object of these payments was influence with then-Vice President Biden, when he was the presiding officer of the Senate. Menendez was one of the nation’s most powerful senators at the time.

[Are these really stunning ‘coincidences,’ or just the kind of patterns that bribery and corruption usually produce? The most interesting coincidence to me is that Abbe Lowell represents both Menendez and Hunter Biden, but even that’s only mildly interesting. Lowell’s a go-to attorney for powerful clients in serious trouble in DC. The only other interesting connection is that Menendez went through contacts at Rosemount to get a meeting with then-VP Biden in 2010 rather than go directly to his former Senate colleague. Why was that necessary, and did any money change hands in that connection? — Ed]