New York — A federal judge on Monday rejected a former high-ranking Justice Department official’s attempt to join former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s defense team, ruling that attorney Bruce Fein had no “legal basis” to do so.
The judge was Alvin K. Hellerstein had initially agreed to Fein’s request to join Maduro’s drug trafficking case, but backed out after the deposed leader’s de facto lawyer, Barry Pollack, objected to his involvement.
Finn, who was a deputy assistant attorney general during Ronald Reagan’s presidency, claimed in court papers that “credible individuals” within Maduro’s inner circle or his family sought his help. Fein claimed that Maduro “expressed a desire” to “assist him in this matter.”
But Hellerstein said in a written order that only Maduro has the authority to retain Fein as his lawyer, not unidentified individuals. Fein’s request for the judge to summon Maduro to court to ask him whether he would like to add Fein to the defense team was rejected.
“If Maduro wishes to retain Finn, he has the ability to do so,” Hellerstein wrote. “Finn cannot appoint himself to represent Maduro.”
Messages seeking comment were left Monday for Finn and Pollack.
Pollack, a prominent Washington lawyer, has clients Among them is WikiLeaks founder Julian AssangeHe was Maduro’s only lawyer during his Jan. 5 trial in Manhattan federal court, days after U.S. special forces arrested Maduro and his wife, Celia Flores, from their home in Caracas.
In court, Maduro described what happened as a kidnapping and declared himself a prisoner of war. Pollack told Hellerstein that he expected to submit “substantial” documents to the court challenging the legality of his military kidnapping and invoking immunity as head of a sovereign state.
While Finn sought to join the case, Pollack said in a lawsuit last week that he had spoken with Maduro and that the former leader assured him that he did not know Finn and had not communicated with him, let alone retained him or allowed him to join the case.
Finn admitted in a written response that he had not been in contact with Maduro by phone, video or any other direct method.
Maduro and Flores have He pleaded not guilty On charges alleging that he worked with drug gangs to facilitate drug shipments Thousands of tons of cocaine They remain held without bail in a federal prison in Brooklyn and are scheduled to appear again in court on March 17.