Mexican drug lord, “El Chapo”, has the means to hire the best lawyer money can buy, but there is no guarantee that the lawyer will get paid after the case is done.
“El Chapo”, aka Joaquin Guzman, who currently being represented by a state appointed attorney revealed to the judge that he wants Jeffrey Lichtman, a private attorney, to take over the case. The problem is that his assets have been frozen and there is no guarantee that they will be released (as any legal fees paid also be seized and tagged as “drug money”).
“He’s completely locked down so how does he pay us?” Lichtman revealed to NBC News. “He can’t just go to his checkbook in his jail cell and say, ‘Here’s a check, you’re hired.'”
During a hearing on Monday, the U.S District Judge, Brian Cogan, revealed that he will not put any pressure on the government to take its hands off the cash. However, El Chapo will be allowed to discuss with his family in order to assess ways that his lawyer will be paid
Cogan issued a warning stating that he El Chapo needs to change his attorney right away because he will not allow it to delay the trial, which is set to kick off in April. There is the possibility that El Chapo will end up in jail for the rest of his life if the judgement goes against him.
“It’s very difficult to be ready for an April trial date when we can’t come into the case because he’s not even been able to meet with his family to arrange our fee,” a frustrated Lichtman said outside court, stating further that he hoped a compromise could be reached.
“This is still America. The man deserves not only his choice of counsel but also a fair trial,” he said.
El Chapo was rearrested and extradited to the United States a year after he pulled a surprising tunnel escape from a prison in Mexico. He is currently being charged with fueling a drug trafficking team that filled the American streets with illicit drugs.
He is currently being held in a solitary confinement for 23 hours a day and he is only allowed to meet his lawyers.
El Chapo recently got a chance to see his wife, and former beauty queen, who was in court with their twin girls alongside other supporters.
Lichtman also revealed that for over seven months, El Chapo has not been allowed to speak with his relatives and cannot communicate with prison guards because of the language barrier.
Lichtman who has a reputation in the legal system for representing difficult clients like John “Junior” Gotti, who is the son of a mob boss, stated that the security arrangement put in place for El Chapo was the worst that he has seen in his over 27 years of legal practice.
He Is Just a Harmless Guy – Lawyer
“You walk to the courthouse and there are helicopters buzzing outside and there are men with automatic weapons with helmets on and it’s just for a little guy,” Lichtman said in his interview with NBC News.
“This is a calm, serene guy so the whole thing is bizarre to us, every last aspect of this case,” he said, adding that Guzman’s reputation didn’t match the man he met in jail.
“He’s calm, he’s very funny, I mean I had him laughing today. He had tears rolling down his face,” he said. “This is a guy who’s supposed to be a mass murderer. You would never think it if you met him.”
El Chapo captured the attention of the media all around the world when he escaped from a Mexican prison in 2016 for the second time.