NEW YORK (AP) — The lawyer for deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asked a judge on Thursday to toss out the indictment against his client on the grounds that the United States has unconstitutionally violated his rights to defend himself by blocking Venezuelan funds to pay his legal costs.
Attorney Barry Pollack filed papers in Manhattan federal court, saying the U.S. government has violated his client's due process rights by blocking funds to defend him that should come from the Venezuelan government.
"Mr. Maduro, as Venezuela's head of state, has both a right and an expectation to have legal fees associated with these charges funded by the government of Venezuela," Pollack wrote.
The court submission included a declaration from Maduro in which he said he understood that under the laws and practices of Venezuela, "I am entitled to have the government of Venezuela pay for my legal defense."
"I have relied on this expectation and cannot afford to pay for my own legal defense," he said.
Maduro added that he has "been working" with Pollack on his legal defense and that he "is my counsel of choice." The declaration was signed "President Nicolas Maduro Moros."
Maduro and his wife have been in custody in New York since they were seized from their Venezuelan home in early January in a stealth nighttime U.S. military operation. They've pleaded not guilty.
A 25-page indictmentagainst Maduro accused him and others of working with drug cartels and members of the military to facilitate the shipment ofthousands of tons of cocaineinto the U.S. If convicted, both he and his wife face life in prison.
As part of the purported conspiracy, Maduro and his wife allegedly ordering kidnappings, beatings and murders of those who owed them drug money, according to the indictment. It said that included the killing of a local drug boss in Caracas.
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Pollack told a Manhattan judge in an email last week that the U.S. Treasury Department had blocked the authorization of legal fees that the government of Venezuela is required to pay for Maduro, though it has allowed fees to be paid for the defense of first lady Cilia Flores.
Pollack said that the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers sanctions against Venezuela, had granted permission on Jan. 9 approving the payment of legal fees by the Venezuelan government. He said the department rescinded the authorization "without explanation" less than three hours later.
"The conduct of the United States government not only undermines Mr. Maduro's rights but also this Court's mandate to provide a fair trial to all defendants who come before it in accordance with the protections afforded by the U.S. Constitution," Pollack wrote in court papers submitted Thursday.
"The United States government, even while authorizing myriad commercial transactions with Venezuela, is prohibiting counsel from receiving untainted funds from the government of Venezuela, despite Venezuela's obligation to fund Mr. Maduro's defense. Any trial that proceeds under these circumstances will be constitutionally defective and cannot result in a verdict that will withstand later challenge," he added.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press seeking comment.
If the judge leaves the charges against Maduro in place, Pollack said he wants to resign so the court can appoint other counsel to represent Maduro.
The dispute over Maduro's legal fees is intimately linked to U.S. foreign policy. The first Trump administration cut ties with Maduro in 2019, recognizing the then- opposition head of the National Assembly as Venezuela's legitimate leader. The Biden administration hewed closely to the same policy.
Goodman reported from Miami.