When the ousted Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro stands on trial in New York he will have a seasoned lawyer representing him.
Barry Pollack, the lawyer who represented WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, will defend Maduro who faces drugs and weapons charges after being extradited in a US military operation.
Mr Pollack stood next to Maduro on 5 January as he pleaded not guilty to the numerous charges, including narco-terrorism conspiracy.
Venezuela’s captured President Nicolas Maduro with lawyer Barry Pollack. Pic: Reuters
Maduro’s trial will be closely watched around the globe and potentially involve legal challenges. So who is the veteran lawyer who has taken on the case?
Who is Barry Pollack?
Mr Pollack is a partner at Harris St Laurent & Weschler LLP, a boutique law firm based in New York and has a career spanning more than 30 years.
Lawyer Barry Pollack.
Pic AP
A graduate of Indiana University and Georgetown University School of Law, he has extensive experience representing individuals including executives and high-ranking government officials as well as corporations.
Over his three-decade career, according to the law firm guide Chambers USA, Mr Pollack has cultivated a reputation in elite legal circles as a “thorough and deep-thinking lawyer” who “lives, breathes and sleeps trials”.
Barry Pollack speaks to press outside court. Pic: Reuters
Andy Birrell, the president of the National Association of Criminal Defence Lawyers, a group Mr Pollack once headed, described him to Sky News’ US partner network, NBC News, as someone who “reeks credibility”.
“There’s always challenges in high-profile cases, but Barry’s a veteran. He’s done it before,” Mr Birrell said.
“He’s a person that absolutely reeks credibility. I think that Barry’s a person who presents as someone who is trying to get at the truth and people like that, they respect that.”
Assange plea deal
One of Mr Pollack’s most high profile cases was representing Julian Assange.
The WikiLeaks founder faced US Espionage Act charges for the website’s mass release of secret documents, including diplomatic cables and accounts of military action in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After months of negotiations, he pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiring to obtain and disclose classified defence information.
Julian Assange walks with Barry Pollack in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The 2024 deal Mr Pollack struck let Assange walk out of a British prison and enter his plea in the US before returning to his native Australia.
In remarks to reporters after Assange’s release in 2024, Mr Pollack argued that his client never should have been charged under the Espionage Act and framed the case as a test of free speech rights.
Other successes for Mr Pollack include winning a complete acquittal for Michael Krautz, a former accountant at energy company Enron, who faced criminal fraud charges.
He also defended Martin Tankleff, who served 17 years in prison after having been wrongfully convicted of killing his parents as a teenager. Mr Pollack managed to get those convictions reversed and all charges against him dismissed.
What has Pollack said about Maduro?
At Maduro’s arraignment in Manhattan federal court Mr Pollack said he expected to contest what he termed Maduro’s “military abduction,” signalling that the defence will argue the US military’s operation to capture him was unlawful.
At one point near the end of the hearing, he said his client “is head of a sovereign state and entitled to the privilege” that the status ensures.
He added that Maduro was not requesting his release, but may do at a later stage.
Read more:
What it was like inside Maduro’s ‘dramatic’ court hearing
Maduro successor banned from UK
How America captured Venezuela’s president
What about Cilia Flores?
Mark Donnelly, a lawyer based in Houston, Texas is representing Maduro’s wife and former first lady of Venezuela, Cilia Flores.
Mr Donnelly joined the firm Parker Sanchez & Donnelly after 12 years working in the Department of Justice, where he worked as a senior advisor to the United States attorney for the southern district of Texas, according to his biography on the firm’s website.
Cilia Flores and her lawyer Mark Donnelly (R). Pic: Reuters
He assisted in the impeachment trial of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in 2023 and his firm lists his areas of expertise as white collar criminal defence, business litigation, real estate litigation and whistleblower actions.
In court on 5 January, Mr Donnelly said Flores had sustained significant injuries during her capture, including severe bruising on her ribs. He asked that she be provided X-rays and a physical evaluation.
The former first lady was pictured with bandages on her forehead and right temple.
