An attorney for former Prince George’s County Executive Jack Johnson said Friday that he’s no longer defending the accused politician on federal charges relating to a corruption probe.
Brian K. McDaniel, one of two attorneys listed in court papers as representing Johnson, said his withdrawal from the case is not over any major disagreements on the direction of the case.
“No, nothing like that all,” McDaniel said Friday.
He declined to elaborate on his reasoning for withdrawing, though said doing so is not an uncommon practice.
“It’s not abnormal for counsel to enter initially and then after a while come off, especially if [the client] has more than one counsel,” he said.
William R. Martin will continue to represent Johnson, McDaniel said. Martin did not return a phone call or e-mail Friday.
In November, Johnson and his wife Leslie Johnson — now a county councilwoman — were arrested during an FBI raid of their Mitchellville home. The FBI secretly recorded him telling his wife, who had not been sworn into office yet, to flush a $100,000 check down the toilet and hide $80,000 in her bra. Authorities have said that the money was bribes taken from developers seeking favorable treatment.
Court documents filed Friday state that Johnson consulted with both McDaniel and Martin and “decided to proceed with one counsel at this time.”
“Mr. Martin has agreed to maintain full responsibility for the defense of Mr. Johnson in this matter and does not oppose this request,” court documents said.
