Two Lawyers Fight Over Maduro Like It’s Black Friday at the Law Firm
KEY POINTS
- •Nicolás Maduro appeared in a Manhattan federal court on January 5, 2026, facing charges including narco-terrorism and conspiracy.
- •Barry Pollack represented Maduro Monday and claimed the Venezuelan president never communicated with fellow lawyer Bruce Fein, whose court approval stirred conflict.
- •Bruce Fein requested a private judge interview to confirm Maduro’s preferred counsel amid confusion caused by his 2,000-mile capture and alleged 'viperlike' circumstances.
January 5, 2026, New York’s Daniel Patrick Moynihan Courthouse set the stage for what looks like the legal soap opera of the century starring Nicolás Maduro, freshly hauled 2,000 miles from Caracas. Barry Pollack, international law heavyweight famous for defending WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange, was Maduro’s courtroom face on Monday, challenging how US forces pulled off this real-life kidnapping plot. Just a day later, Bruce Fein, a Reagan-era Justice Department alum with a flair for civil liberties, abruptly tried to crash the party. Judge Alvin Hellerstein approved Fein’s sudden lawyer debut — but Pollack quickly alleges Maduro never even whispered Fein’s name, demanding his removal. Fein’s defense? No direct contact with Maduro but he claims 'credible insiders' want him there, blaming the mess on ‘viperlike’ capture conditions and possible miscommunications in foreign tongues. Meanwhile, public defender David Wikstrom confirmed he’s bowing out except to collect a few hours’ pay prepping for that Monday’s arraignment. It's basically a lawyer version of musical chairs—except the chair is a narco-terrorism indictment, and nobody really knows who’s invited.
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When your legal team turns into a soap opera with one lawyer showing up full confident and the other saying 'I don’t even know this guy,' you’ve officially lost control of your life—and your lawyers.
Watching two lawyers fight over who represents a captured president feels like a gritty reality show no one asked for but everyone’s tuned into anyway.
If Maduro’s legal team was a band, they’re now playing different instruments on a sinking ship called ‘Federal Court Drama.’
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 1/9/2026 | Author: Jacob Shamsian
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