Fattah Jr. wants charges against him split into multiple trials

As his Congressman dad Chaka Fattah Sr. is very publicly fighting a federal corruption indictment, Chaka Fattah Jr. is filing a motion to split up the criminal charges against him just weeks ahead of his trial date.

“The federal government has violated nearly every rule in pursuing this case against me, and there are rules dealing with how charges are grouped together for a criminal trial,” said Fattah Jr., who is representing himself in the federal fraud trial and insisted that the motion to sever he filed today in federal court is not an attempt to delay his trial.

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Fattah Jr. was indicted in July 2014 on charges of bank loan fraud, tax evasion and for inflating costs on a School District of Philadelphia contract for Delaware Valley Charter Schools, a program he worked with as a consultant through his company 259 Consulting.

But the conduct at issue ranges in time from 2005 to 2012, Fattah Jr. said, calling the prosecution “the kitchen sink approach.” He said there should be three separate trials.

“The allegations just don’t relate to each other,” he said. “If they were to separate the trial it would make it easier for the jury to compartmentalize the issues, so the government can’t confuse the jurors.”

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Despite facing a maximum possible sentence of 418 years with the trial currently scheduled to begin Oct. 15, Fattah Jr. said he isn’t scared of the case.

“I’m looking forward to clearing all these issues up once and for all,” he said. “I’ve done nothing wrong. The government has done so many things wrong on this case that I’m in a good position.”

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As for his father, Rep. Fattah, who was indicted in July and recently saw his efforts to block federal prosecutors from his emails knocked down, Fattah Jr. said, “My dad is focused on doing his job, which is representing the constituents of the 2nd congressional district. Hopefully, it will all be resolved favorably.”