Prosecutors agree Fattah can maintain contact with some potential witnesses ahead of corruption trial

Rep. Chaka Fattah's social network just became a little larger as federal prosecutors agreed to allow the Philadelphia Democrat to maintain contact with 16 potential government witnesses as he prepares for trial next year on corruption charges.

Most on the newly approved list - which includes the likes of former Gov. Ed Rendell, Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), and State Sen. Vincent Hughes (D., Phila.) - are elected officials, former staffers, and prominent constituents that Fattah's lawyers say he must continue to talk with in order to fulfill his congressional duties.

But prosecutors still maintain that Fattah, 58, should stay away from the bulk of the 122 people they have identified as potential witnesses for fear they could misconstrue any contact as an attempt to influence their testimony.

"We're concerned that some of these witnesses are going to feel intimidated if he tries to talk to them," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Gray at a hearing Wednesday before U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III.

Skeptical, the judge shot back "You think Gov. Rendell is going to feel intimidated?" - to which Gray responded, "Well, no."

Their exchange came a month after a U.S. magistrate judge barred the congressman from having any contact with witnesses except for his family and current members of his staff.

The congressman's lawyers singled out 22 from the government's list and have asked Bartle to approve them for continued contact with Fattah.

As it stands, to contact anyone else on the witness list, Fattah's lawyers as well as attorneys representing the witness must monitor the conversation - a setup the congressman's legal team has described as unnecessarily onerous.

"Mr. Fattah is not your run-of-the-mill defendant you run into in the courthouse," his lawyer Kevin V. Mincey said. "He's a sitting congressman, and he needs to maintain contact with these people to do his job."

After a tense 10-minute exchange, Fattah's defense team and Gray agreed upon the list of 16 additional witnesses the congressman could communicate without having the conversation monitored, provided he avoid discussing his case.

However, the lawyers had to turn to Bartle to settle their differences on at least six other names Fattah had singled out - including Thomas Butler, an ex-employee of Education Advancement Alliance, a Fattah-backed nonprofit that lies at the center of the allegations against him.

Gray described Butler as a key witness in the case and one that could be particularly "amenable to coercion." He stressed, however, that the government has found nothing to suggest that Fattah has attempted to influence anyone's testimony so far.

Bartle made no decision Wednesday.

Now in his 11th term, Fattah is scheduled for trial on racketeering conspiracy charges in May.

He has repeatedly denied prosecutors' allegations that he took bribes and misused federal grant money, campaign funds, and charitable donations he controlled to pay off debts and line the pockets of his family and inner circle.