Report: Max Baucus Ex-Aide, Now Girlfriend, Met With His Divorce Attorney

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) assigned his then-aide and counsel Melodee Hanes to meet with an attorney in 2007 to discuss a personal issue -- Baucus' planned divorce from his wife, according to billing documents obtained by Lee Newspapers.

Baucus is now divorced from his former wife, Wanda, and he and Hanes live together in Washington, D.C. The couple's relationship has come under scrutiny since it was revealed last week that Baucus nominated Hanes for a U.S. attorney position in Montana.

According to billing documents, divorce attorney Ron Waterman of Helena, Mont., met with Hanes twice in the summer of 2007 in her official capacity as counsel and state director for Baucus.

One law office billing item was listed: "Meeting with Melodee to discuss draft of (separation) agreement and options for separation." It is unknown how the Independent Record of Helena acquired the "Dissolution of Marriage/Wanda Baucus" -- a document that would seemingly be protected by attorney-client privilege.

Asked if it was appropriate for Baucus to assign a tax-paid employee to meet with the senator's attorney on divorce issues, Baucus spokesman Ty Matsdorf said: "Melodee Hanes' interactions were in her official role as state director and focused on scheduling and logistics, including how a potential separation between Senator Baucus and Wanda could impact the senator's travel and work."

Hanes and Baucus were not involved at the time, Matsdorf told the Independent Record. They began their relationship in the summer of 2008, a few months after Baucus moved out of the Georgetown home he and Wanda shared in March 2008, according to the newspaper.

Wanda Baucus told the newspaper she did not know that Hanes talked to the divorce attorney before she and her husband discussed separation. "Ending a 25-year marriage is a serious undertaking that should be discussed first within the family," she told the paper. "There's no justification for the staff being involved in such private matters."

Hanes left her job in Baucus' office in May of this year to work at the Department of Justice as the Counsel to the Administrator and Acting Deputy Administrator of Policy.

No congressional rules bar lawmakers from having romantic relationships with employees, and in fact, several lawmakers have married staffers, Politico reports. Former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) became involved with a House staffer when he was House speaker and later married her.

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