Nicolás Maduro has a reason to shake his jailfeather.
Anna Estevao, an attorney who represented Sean "Diddy" Combs in his blockbuster criminal trial last year, joined the former Venezuelan president's defense team on Thursday.
The move comes after Maduro's lead attorney, Barry Pollack, joined Estevao's law firm, Harris Trzaskoma LLP.
The boutique litigation firm announced earlier this week that it was bringing on Pollack, best known for representing Julian Assange, and Susan Hoffinger, a renowned trial lawyer who was part of the Manhattan district attorney's prosecution team that won a 34-count fraud conviction of Donald Trump before he was elected president for the second time.
Pollack told Business Insider that he joined the firm because of its stable of "incredible lawyers" who can handle novel legal issues and complex challenges, including in Maduro's case.
"This is a truly unprecedented situation, and there will certainly be a robust defense, and joining this firm is going to give me the resources to assist President Maduro in every way we can," Pollack said.
Estevao played a key role in Combs' Manhattan criminal trial last year, cross-examining his main accuser, Cassie Ventura. The jury acquitted Combs of the most severe charges against him — racketeering and sex-trafficking — but convicted him of two prostitution-related charges. The former hip-hop mogul is appealing his conviction and 4-year sentence.
Estevao told Business Insider that she is excited to work with her new colleagues on high-profile and challenging cases.
Justice Department prosecutors have accused Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, of narco-terrorism and weapons charges. They've both pleaded not guilty.
The court proceedings, overseen by US District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, have taken place in the same 26th-floor courtroom as Combs' trial. Both Combs and Maduro were also housed in the same federal jail in Brooklyn, though not at the same time.
Theresa Trzaskoma, who cofounded the law firm last year with Estevao, Justine Harris, and Allegra Noonan, told Business Insider that Pollack and Hoffinger were "kindred spirits" with other attorneys at the firm.
"It is exciting to have lawyers who can take on all kinds of cases," she said. "Difficult, hard, challenging cases for high-profile clients and others who are facing really difficult circumstances."
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Jacob Shamsian is a correspondent on Business Insider's Enterprise news desk. He is a member of the Axel Springer Global Reporters Network.He was previously on BI's Legal Affairs desk, covering major litigation, courtroom trials, and the legal industry.Jacob has reported on the criminal trials of Donald Trump, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sam Bankman-Fried, Sean "Diddy" Combs, R. Kelly, and Anna Sorokin (AKA Anna Delvey), He's also covered blockbuster civil trials, including both E. Jean Carroll v. Trump trials, the New York Attorney General's fraud trial against Trump, Sarah Palin v. The New York Times, and Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard.His stories have been cited in judicial rulings, lawsuits, letters from congressional committees, and in numerous media publications. He was a pool reporter in Donald Trump's Manhattan criminal trial.Jacob has been interviewed on CNN, the docuseries "Surviving R. Kelly," ABC's "Good Morning America," and BBC News, among other programs. His work has been cited by media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, and New York magazine. He's also written for GQ, The Awl, The New Republic, Entertainment Weekly, Time, and Modern Farmer.You can reach Jacob on Signal at JacobShamsian.07.Expertise:Manhattan District Attorney and New York Attorney General Trump Organization investigations, 2020 election lawsuits, Dominion and Smartmatic, Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Sam Bankman-Fried, Anna Sorokin (AKA Anna Delvey), R. Kelly, January 6 criminal cases, Britney Spears conservatorship.Features and scoops:Inside Jeffrey Epstein's plan to nab another billionaire clientLuigi Mangione came from privilege. Then his spine gave out, he went off the grid, and he got a gun.Why The New York Times' lawyers are inspecting OpenAI's code in a secretive roomWhen the crowd leaves Trump's hush-money trial, the judge spends his day in a very different kind of courtThe newly unsealed Jeffrey Epstein documents have Donald Trump's name all over them. He had been secretly disguised as 'Doe 174.'FTX's victims may get all their money back. The judge sentencing Sam Bankman-Fried might not care.Trump's 'multitasking' defense is falling apart in courtI fled an extremist Jewish cult in Guatemala when I was 15 years old. I grew up with virtually no education and wasn't allowed to show love to my parents.The Anna Delvey Industrial Complex — and meSteve Bannon filmed Jeffrey Epstein for 15 hours. His 'documentary' has never surfaced.Fake letters and sex tapes: How R. Kelly tried to discredit and compromise his accusersWill Dominion end up owning MyPillow if it wins a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against Mike Lindell? Here are 2 ways it could take control.
