Federal prosecutors oppose withdrawal request made by Marilyn Mosby's lawyers
BALTIMORE -- Federal prosecutors have filed a motion opposing Marilyn Mosby's defense team's request to withdraw from her perjury and mortgage fraud case, according to court documents.
Mosby's six private lawyers filed a motion to withdraw from her case on Thursday after a series of rulings earlier this week created significant hurdles for them, including the possibility of criminal contempt charges against her lead attorney, A. Scott Bolden.
Four of the lawyers, who work at Bolden's law firm, said they could no longer represent Mosby because of a conflict, while the remaining two said they don't have the time and resources to take over the defense alone.
Baltimore attorney Jeremy Elderidge told WJZ's Kelsey Kushner following the filing of the motion that the court would have to determine that there was a conflict of interest in order to approve the withdrawal request.
Court documents filed on Saturday show that federal prosecutors determined that Mosby's defense counsel had "failed to establish 'other good cause' to withdraw.
"At the outset, the Government notes that while none of the defense counsel have demonstrated good cause to withdraw as discussed in more detail below, the Government would not object to Mr. Bolden withdrawing in light of his behavior during the pendency of this case," the documents state. "The Government is confident that the matter would be handled in a more professional and civil matter by any of the other five attorneys that represent the Defendant."
Mosby recently left office after serving two high-profile terms as Baltimore state's attorney. She was defeated in a Democratic primary last year after federal prosecutors accused her of lying about experiencing pandemic-related financial hardship in order to make early withdrawals from her retirement account. She used the money to buy two Florida vacation properties.
Mosby faces two counts each of perjury and mortgage fraud. Her trial is scheduled to begin on March 27 in Baltimore.