Two Of R. Kelly’s Lawyers Request To Step Down Ahead Of Chicago Trial

Mya Abraham
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R. Kelly’s—legal name Robert Sylvester Kelly—federal trail in Chicago is set to begin in August, but it’s being reported that two of his attorneys are requesting to be withdrawn from the proceedings.

Attorneys Steve Greenberg and Michael Leonard confirmed the filing last Friday (Jan. 14) as reported by CBS Chicago. They also requested to withdraw from the singer’s New York trial in June of 2021. Greenberg told CNN back then that he believed Kelly was “insistent that we work with people who we felt would be rendering ineffective assistance as counsel.”

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Nearly 14 years after his 2008 child pornography trial in which he was acquitted, federal prosecutors have charged Kelly with filming himself having sex with underage girls, and using physical and financial intimidation tactics against witnesses to cover up his alleged crimes. He is also being charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse and sexual assault. One of the alleged victims, identified as Minor 1 and at the center of the 2008 trial, is now reportedly cooperating with the prosecution and may be expected to testify at trial.

In September 2021, Kelly was convicted in New York on nine counts of sex crimes and racketeering. He is potentially facing life in prison and is set to be sentenced on May 4, 2022. Additionally, he was found guilty of violating the Mann Act that states it’s illegal to transport someone across state lines with immoral intent. In November 2021, Kelly hired Bill Cosby’s attorney in an effort to get his racketeering conviction overturned, but there has yet to be an update regarding that appeal.

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