Chaka Fattah Jr. Says He Turned Down Plea Deal, Likes the $16 Rock Shrimp at Pod

We told you yesterday about Chaka Fattah Jr.’s indictment on fraud and tax charges. He’s accused of stealing from the Philadelphia School District and failing to pay federal taxes, among other things. Since then, though, Fattah has been on the offensive.

Yesterday, Fattah Jr. went on 1210 WPHT to talk to Chris Stigall and Dom Giordano, two broadcasters who are traditionally not big fans of Democrats. (Giordano switched his registration to Dem briefly in 2008 so he could vote for Hillary Clinton in the primary, believing her to be an easier target in the general election.) But Fattah Jr. had a Big Talker-friendly angle on this case: Government overreach!

“The people involved in the investigation are, I think — they’re primarily interested in potentially getting a promotion,” he said on air. “Things like that, things that have nothing to do with doing their job. It’s a political thing … I really think it shows the individual Assistant U.S. Attorneys and, in some cases FBI Agents or IRS Agents, have really too much power over people’s lives.”

Fattah also revealed he refused to take a plea deal which would have involved him cooperating against his father, as well as jail time. The government wanted him to cooperate against his dad and go to jail? That’s cold.

This is just part two of his media blitz. in May, Fattah Jr. also wrote a column on Forbes’ website with the headline “The Federal Government Ruined My Life.”

This all happened when I was 29, over two years ago. I do not think it would have happened if not for some local political interest in embarrassing my father and thereby my entire family. I have never been audited, had no history of disputes with the IRS, and simply never had any negative interactions with the IRS. I also had zero interaction with the FBI prior to this action.

I recently filed a federal lawsuit against the IRS, FBI and DOJ seeking $1 million in direct economic damages as well as $9 million in punitive damages, due to the egregious conduct of the government in my case.

He also noted several times about how the Inquirer had photographers taking shots of agents walking into his office and then-apartment. He seems to be surprised by all the media attention this is getting, even though he’s the son of a Congressman and the stepson of one of the only celebrities we have in Philadelphia, the lead anchor on the NBC 10 news.

And, for some reason, he’s chronicling all of the stories about the investigation on his Instagram like he’s a kid who just won a ribbon at the state fair and is savoring all the attention.

Fattah says he can’t afford a high-profile lawyer to defend himself. The Daily News asked him about previous posts on his Instagram, which appeared to show him living a lavish lifestyle. He claims those were all old photos, taken from before the FBI raided his office in 2012.

“Everything was like a throwback Thursday,” Fattah told the Daily News. “I do like the rock shrimp at Pod, though. It’s only $16.”

Only $16? Is that cheap for shrimp? I don’t eat it. Either way, if he’s buying $16 shrimp, at least he can afford some lawyer, if not exactly the highest-powered one.