WASHINGTON — Rep. Charlie Rangel has lost his legal defense team, throwing into question the scheduled Nov. 15 start for his ethics trial.
The Harlem Democrat and his lawyers from the Washington firm of Zuckerman Spaeder have split with just weeks to go before Congress puts Rangel on trial for 13 ethics violations, sources familiar with the breakup said.
A Rangel spokesman would not say if his boss had asked the House ethics committee to postpone the start date.
The committee also wouldn’t release a comment.
A team of Zuckerman Spaeder lawyers led by Leslie Kiernan, a white-collar criminal-defense expert, has represented Rangel for two years as his ethics woes worsened.
Rangel has paid his lawyers more than $1.4 million out of his campaign account since the ethics investigation began in 2008, federal filings show.
It was unclear if the breakup was over money or legal strategy.