Tussle erupts over former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro

Barry Pollack, the Defence lawyer who appeared with Maduro in court, accused lawyer Bruce Fein of attempting to join the defence without authorisation. Fein, who is a former associate deputy US attorney general under Ronald Reagan, said a judge had asked him to help resolve the issue and told the Manhattan federal Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein that people close to Maduro had sought his assistance amid what he described as the "extraordinary, startling, and viperlike circumstances" of Maduro’s arrest.

Fein stated that while he did not have any contact with Maduro, the lawyer claimed that the deposed leader "had expressed a desire" for his "assistance in this matter."

Pollack asked Hellerstein to rescind approval on Fein

The dispute began on Thursday when Pollack asked Hellerstein to rescind his approval for Fein to join Maduro's legal team. Justifying his remarks, Pollack said that Fein was not Maduro's lawyer, adding that he had not authorised Fein to file paperwork telling the judge otherwise.

Notably, Pollack was the only attorney who represented Maduro as he and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty to charges alleging that he worked with drug cartels to facilitate the shipment of cocaine into the US. This came two days after the US forces captured Maduro and his wife.

Pollack claims Maduro does not know Fein

In a written filing to Judge Hellerstein, Pollack said he tried to reach Fein by phone and email to ask why he was seeking to appear on Maduro’s behalf and what authority he had to do so, but received no response. "He has not responded," Pollack said.

He claimed that he spoke to Maduro by phone on Thursday, and the deposed leader stated  that he "does not know Mr Fein and has not communicated with Mr Fein, much less retained him, authorised him to enter an appearance, or otherwise hold himself out as representing Mr Maduro."

Pollack said Maduro authorised him to request that Judge Hellerstein amend the court docket to remove Fein as his listed counsel.

In a response filed Friday, Fein said he does not challenge Pollack's account but proposed that the judge privately question Maduro to clearly determine his wishes regarding legal representation, including whether he wants Pollack, Fein or both. Fein argued that Maduro's sudden arrest, limited ability to communicate and immediate exposure to a foreign legal system created conditions ripe for confusion or misunderstanding.

“Maduro was apprehended under extraordinary, startling, and viperlike circumstances, including deprivation of liberty, custodial restrictions on communications, and immediate immersion in a foreign criminal process in a foreign tongue, fraught with the potential for misunderstandings or miscommunications,” Fein wrote.