Kelly is awaiting US District Judge Ann Donnelly’s decision on a request from two of Kelly’s long-time Chicago-based attorneys, Steve Greenberg and Michael Leonard, to withdraw from the case.
An attorney who represented the women at one time said in a declaration filed by Greenberg and Leonard that was read in court Thursday, that Becker gave “legal advice” to the women, one of whom began cooperating with prosecutors in early 2020 after severing ties with Kelly.
Federal prosecutor Maria Cruz Melendez, of the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, voiced concerns over the alleged payments, saying a jury may be misled into thinking that the payments incentivized the woman to testify for the defense.
Sources confirmed to CNN the matter deals with an allegation that Becker was connected to an effort to pay to silence a victim who is cooperating with the government.
Arline pleaded guilty in February to one count of bribery and is expected to be sentenced at a later date.
According to a complaint filed in August against Arline, investigators gained the cooperation of a victim of Kelly, who the singer allegedly had a sexual relationship with when she was 17 years old.
In a May 20, 2020 three-way call, Arline allegedly discussed paying a victim of R.
The complaint alleges that Arline meant that one or all of the associates “told him that Jane Doe had access to electronic evidence that could be used against Kelly and that they wanted Jane Doe to not tell her version of events regarding her relationship with Kelly.” CNN has reached out to an attorney for Arline for comment.
The hearing Thursday was a rare hearing meant to address any potential conflicts attorneys involved in the case may have, and Donnelly said at the hearing that she would like for Kelly to be brought to New York to participate in another conflict-related hearing in-person.