Congressman Fattah's Attorneys Say He Isn't Paying His Bills; Want Out
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Congressman Chaka Fattah's defense attorneys are asking a judge to let them withdraw from his corruption case because he's not paying his legal fees.
Attorneys from the firm Mincey and Fitzpatrick and attorney Riley Ross say they no longer want to defend Fattah in his bribery trial because he wasn't paying his bills.
Fattah told KYW Newsradio that he's already spent $300,000 on legal fees:
"We're not able to keep up with the payments. They're not able to carry us -- they're not a large enough firm. So we're probably going to end up with a larger firm with much kinder payment arangements."
Fattah says his priority now is raising money for his re-election bid, over his legal defense fund.
The attorneys wanted their request to be made under seal, but federal judge Harvey Bartle denied their motion, making the documents public Thursday.
The judge has scheduled a hearing on the withdrawal request for next Tuesday.