Rep. Brooks granted additional legal help | www.ajc.com

A federal judge has granted Rep. Tyrone Brooks additional legal help to fight his indictment on federal fraud charges.

U.S. Magistrate Alan Baverman said in an order Friday that the government must provide Brooks with an additional lawyer to supplement the pro bono work former Gov. Roy Barnes is already providing.

Brooks, an Atlanta Democrat, faces 30 charges of wire, tax and mail fraud and is accused of using contributions meant for a pair of charities for personal expenses. Barnes has said Brooks broke no laws but had poor accounting practices.

Barnes, one of the best-known lawyers in the state, argued that he has primarily handled civil cases and hasn’t argued a federal criminal case in decades. In his motion requesting help, Barnes argued that Brooks is entitled to federal assistance as he can’t afford to pay for a lawyer.

The U.S. Attorney’s office disagreed and argued Barnes is more than capable of defending Brooks.

But, Baverman said Brooks’ financial affidavit showed the veteran lawmaker is living on his $17,000 annual legislative salary and has no other means to hire counsel. Baverman drew the line, however, at granting Barnes’ request for financial help in hiring experts to bolster Brooks’ defense.

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