Judge Denies Motion By Defense Team To Withdraw From Representing Congressman
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A day after Congressman Chaka Fattah's defense team asked a federal judge for permission to withdraw from his upcoming racketeering trial, because Fattah wasn't keeping up with his payment arrangements, the judge denied the motion.
Judge Harvey Bartle is telling the congressman's current defense team they must continue. In his ruling, the judge writes "the ship cannot be turned around easily."
He notes it is "unlikely that new counsel at this late date could become sufficiently familiar" with the case, comply with the remaining pretrial deadlines, and start a lengthy trial on May 2nd. Lawyers told the judge that the court documents produced so far include 900,000 pages of material.
The scheduled start of his corruption trial is less than a week after Fattah, an 11-term congressman, faces numerous challengers in the democratic primary.
Fattah told the judge in court and reporters outside the courthouse his current priority is fundraising for his re-election campaign. Bartle reprimanded Fattah for "prioritizing his resources to his political campaign over his promise to his lawyers." He looked Fattah in the eyes and said "you should think hard and fast about your priorities."
Bartle also writes "if counsel were allowed to withdraw at this stage, Fattah would also run the serious risk that he would be left with no attorney to represent him."
Fattah and four others face a 29-count, 85-page racketeering indictment.
Other deadlines are fast approaching. The parties will hold a conference in early April concerning a jury questionnaire. The judge says realistically, due to the complexity of the matter and schedules of counsel, if the trial does not begin on May 2nd, it will likely have to be postponed for months. The government's case alone could take 6-8 weeks.
