NEW YORK — A federal judge rejected an attempt by attorney Bruce Fein to join the defense team for ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in his drug trafficking case, saying Fein had “no legal basis” to do so.
In a written order, Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said Fein initially was approved to join the case but that the decision was reversed after Barry Pollack, Maduro’s lawyer, objected to Fein’s involvement. The judge said only Maduro has the authority to retain Fein as his lawyer, not unidentified individuals, and he rejected Fein’s request that the court summon Maduro to determine whether he wanted Fein added.
“If Maduro wishes to retain Fein, he has the ability to do so,” Hellerstein wrote. “Fein cannot appoint himself to represent Maduro.”
Fein had argued in court papers that “individuals credibly situated” within Maduro’s inner circle or family sought his assistance and that Maduro “had expressed a desire” for his “assistance in this matter.” Hellerstein’s ruling addressed that contention by limiting the court’s authority to the question of Maduro’s own selection of counsel.
The judge said that if Maduro wants to retain Fein, Maduro can do so through the process of retaining his counsel, rather than through an application by Fein supported by claims of interest from other people.
Messages seeking comment were left Monday for both Fein and Pollack.
Pollack was the only lawyer with Maduro at his Jan. 5 arraignment in Manhattan federal court, according to the report. The filing described Pollack as a prominent Washington lawyer whose clients have included WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The arraignment followed U.S. special forces seizing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from their home in Caracas, the report said. In court, Maduro called the seizure a kidnapping and declared himself a prisoner of war.
At the same time, Pollack told Hellerstein he expected to make “substantial” court filings challenging the legality of Maduro’s military abduction and invoking immunity as the head of a sovereign state.
In a court filing last week, Pollack said he spoke with Maduro and that Maduro told him he does not know Fein and has not communicated with him, much less retained him or authorized him to join the case. Fein, in a written response, acknowledged that he had had no contact with Maduro by telephone, video or any other direct way.
Maduro and Flores pleaded not guilty to charges alleging Maduro worked with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States, and they remain held without bail at a federal jail in Brooklyn. They are due back in court on March 17.
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