Barry Pollack, a US trial lawyer, will take on the case as the captured Venezuelan president’s private counsel
When Nicolás Maduro appeared in court in New York on Monday, his choice of lawyer quickly raised eyebrows.
The captured Venezuelan president was accompanied by Barry Pollack, a top-tier US trial lawyer who spent years representing Julian Assange, eventually securing the WikiLeaks founder’s release from prison in the UK in 2024.
Pollack is a partner at Harris St Laurent & Wechsler, a law firm based on New York’s Wall Street in the financial district of lower Manhattan, just a few minutes walk from the federal court where Maduro pleaded not guilty to criminal charges on Monday.
I’ve been wondering how they choose what court he goes to, and I can’t help but think this is the main deciding factor.
It’ll likely be New York, as that’s where he was indicted. I don’t see either side wanting to change that.
I think the judge is over 90 years old. I’m sure that’s not by accident.