Judge tells ex-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro charges will stand
Ex-Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro says the U.S. government is interfering with his right to choose his own lawyer by blocking his access to Venezuelan government funds.
Aysha BagchiA federal judge told captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in a Manhattan court March 26 that he won't dismiss Maduro's drug conspiracy charges as a result of a dispute over how to pay for his criminal defense.
Maduro, who was removed from Venezuela by U.S. military forces in early January, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which allege that he helped transport thousands of tons of cocaine into the United States. If convicted, he could be sentenced to decades behind bars.
Maduro wore beige-colored prison garb during the proceedings.
Maduro's wife, Cilia Flores, was also removed from Venezuela by U.S. forces and has pleaded not guilty to similar charges. She was also present at the Manhattan federal court on March 26.
Maduro's defense lawyer, Barry Pollack, has argued that the U.S. government is interfering with Maduro's right to representation by denying him access to Venezuelan government funds. The case against Maduro should therefore be thrown out, according to Pollack.
Federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton, made it clear at the March 26 proceedings that he won't dismiss the charges over the funding dispute, at least for the time being.
However, Hellerstein did suggest that Maduro and his wife don't pose the same threat to the United States now that they're in U.S. custody, potentially undercutting the U.S. government's justification for restricting access to the funds.
"The defendant is here, Flores is here. They present no further national security threat," Hellerstein said. "The right that's implicated, paramount over other rights, is the right to constitutional counsel."
Hellerstein didn't formally rule on the dispute from the bench.
President Donald Trump, who ordered the military operation that removed Maduro from his country, said at a Cabinet meeting on March 26 that he would "imagine there are other trials coming" for Maduro because the United States charged him with "a fraction" of what it could have.
Maduro "emptied his prisons into our country, and I hope that charge will be brought at some point," Trump said.
What is Maduro's argument for dismissing the charges?
Pollack, Maduro's lawyer, has said the government of Venezuela is required by Venezuelan law to pay for Maduro's legal defense, but the U.S. government is blocking the ability to receive those funds.
"As a result, Mr. Maduro, who lacks his own funds to retain counsel, is being deprived of his constitutional right to counsel of his choice," Pollack wrote in a Feb. 26 court filing.
If Hellerstein doesn't dismiss the charges, Pollack has asked for permission to withdraw from representing Maduro. In a separate court filing, Mark E. Donnelly, a lawyer for Flores, has made the same request.
Why is the US blocking Venezuelan funds for Maduro?
U.S. officials have said Maduro and his wife can't use the Venezuelan public funds they are seeking because those funds are controlled by a government that is subject to U.S. sanctions. However, officials have given the pair a limited exception to the sanctions so they may use their personal funds to pay for their lawyers.
In a written declaration signed under penalty of perjury, Maduro has said that he can't afford to pay for his own legal defense and that Pollack is his lawyer of choice.
If Maduro and his wife can't pay for their own defense, lawyers can be appointed for them, prosecutors said. However, court-appointed lawyers wouldn't necessarily be the lawyers chosen by the pair.
Contributing: Reuters; and Francesca Chambers, USA TODAY
(This story has been updated with additional information.)