Facing probe, Fattah employs criminal lawyers in campaign and district office

Posted by Jenna Ebersole on Oct. 27, 2014

Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) is a man surrounded by lawyers. 

Besides the usual attorneys that lawmakers typically hire in their D.C. office (he has at least two there), Fattah's campaign has multiple law firms responding to routine campaign matters, as well as a criminal inquiry about a scheme to funnel money through various Fattah-linked nonprofits to pay back a loan to his 2007 mayoral campaign.

Fattah has an unusual distinction: he is one of only two members of the House to have his top lawyer in the district office. And he is the only one with both a chief counsel and a deputy chief counsel in the district office. Both are part-time.

That their legal expertise is in an area where Fattah needs legal help now - criminal law - is not relevant to their job duties, a Fattah spokeswoman says.

"Not unlike their counterparts in other congressional offices, their work encompasses a variety of casework and constituent services on behalf of individuals and organizations in the district, and helping them navigate the complexities of interfacing with the federal government," the Fattah aide said by email. "Neither one are currently representing him - nor have ever represented him - in any capacity on personal legal matters."

A close former Fattah aide, Gregory Naylor, pleaded guilty in August to participating in a campaign finance fraud scheme and detailed the plan. Naylor admitted to conspiring in the scheme with his boss, whose description matches Fattah's.

Fattah's chief counsel in Philadelphia, Michael A. Walker, joined the staff in 2011. His LinkedIn profile shows his law office specializes in criminal defense, personal injury and employment law and he is a past general counsel and vice president of programs for the Urban League of Philadelphia.

For Fattah, Walker says on LinkedIn he advises on "critical issues" facing greater Philadelphia.

Attorney Sonte Reavis is deputy chief counsel in Fattah's Philadelphia office and started with Fattah in 1999. He practices criminal defense and civil trial law, according to his firm's website.

Reavis is a cousin to a colleague at the firm, Donyale Reavis, according to Philly.com. Donyale Reavis led CORE, one of the nonprofits implicated in the campaign finance fraud plan, after the period of the alleged scheme. A University of Pennsylvania profile in 2005 identified Naylor as her mentor.

FEC filings show Fattah's campaign has paid the firm of Fattah's personal attorney, Luther Weaver, $40,000 for legal services so far this year. Fattah's campaign has also paid out at least $46,867 in other legal fees this year to four other firms. Additionally, the campaign paid Robert Half Legal, a legal staffing firm, $16,845 for research.

House ethics rules allow for campaign funds to be used by representatives to "defend legal actions arising out of his or her campaign, election or the performance of official duties."

Some people and organizations who "caught our eye" last week:

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