Chaka Fattah Jr Seeking Lawyer, Alleges Prosecutorial Misconduct
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Chaka Fattah Jr, the son of Congressman Chaka Fattah, who is appealing his conviction of bank and tax fraud charges has sent a letter to the Department of Justice alleging prosecutorial misconduct and is looking to acquire an attorney to represent him in his appeal.
Talking with Rich Zeoli on Talk Radio 1210 WPHT, Fattah said he is not questioning his decision to represent himself at trial, but would like an attorney to take over from here.
"I'm looking into some pro-bono representation from a top tier law firm right now. If that falls through, it will either be me or the federal defenders office, but I would say that the quality of representation in terms of what I was able to do, it remains to be seen how good or bad that was because it was always possible that I could lose this case, even with a team of lawyers."
Regarding the letter to the DOJ, he claims his entrepreneurial endeavors failed because of leaks planted in the media by prosecutors.
"I sent a letter today to Attorney General Loretta Lynch and two of her lieutenants, including the Inspector General at the Department of Justice. The essence of the letter is I've taken five different incidents that have happened in this case, starting with a media leak that has now been admitted to...that's one of the central claims here. The issue is...due process, the Sixth Amendment, related to being able to use your money to hire lawyers. Essentially my claim...is that they destroyed my business. They destroyed my income and they did that years before charges came in this case."
Fattah is demanding that his complaint be addressed at the highest levels of government.
"What I'm trying to do here is point out unprofessional conduct, conduct unbecoming a member of the Bar and the main goal with the letter is I want the United States Department of Justice in Washington DC to open a formal investigation into the conduct that occurred in this case."
