Rostenkowski to Fight Case With New Lawyer : Legal: Congressman will replace counsel, who also represents the President. Rift supposedly developed when he rejected a plea bargain.

Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) said Thursday he is parting company with attorney Robert S. Bennett, confirming speculation that began after the lawmaker’s indictment.

“Today, Bob Bennett, my attorney in the House post office investigation, and I mutually decided to go our separate ways. I will soon retain new counsel, and will present a vigorous defense to the charges recently brought against me,” Rostenkowski said in a statement released by his office.

An aide to Bennett confirmed the split earlier in the day, saying Bennett would stay on until Rostenkowski found other legal representation.

One of the names mentioned as a possible replacement is Dan Webb, a former U.S. attorney in Chicago who is now in private practice. Webb did not immediately respond to a request for comment left at his office Thursday.

A rift in the way the case should be handled became evident after Rostenkowski decided to fight a 17-count indictment announced Tuesday rather than accept a plea bargain.

One legal source said Rostenkowski “lost confidence” in Bennett after the lawyer decided to take on representation of President Clinton without first consulting him.

Sources familiar with Bennett’s thinking said the problem had to do with his needing more control as the case proceeded toward trial. Arraignment is scheduled for June 10 before U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson.

Bennett felt he was losing control when Rostenkowski rejected his advice to publicly comment after the indictment and earlier when Rostenkowski refused to accept Bennett’s guidance that he accept a plea bargain with a six-month prison term, the sources said.

Asked about the congressman’s refusal, Joseph diGenova, a defense lawyer and former head of the U.S. attorney’s office that now is prosecuting the case, said he also thought Rostenkowski “should have taken the deal.”

Bennett has denied any conflict in his representation of Clinton and has said the two cases have no relationship. Clinton is being sued by a former Arkansas state employee, Paula Corbin Jones, who has accused him of making unwanted sexual advances when he was governor.

The grand jury indictment against Rostenkowski accuses him of hiring ghost employees, including some who performed personal services for him, of having some of the workers kick back part of their paychecks to his office, of asking a witness to withhold information from the grand jury and of obtaining cash illegally from the House post office.

By deciding to fight in court, Rostenkowski risks a longer sentence unless he can win on every count of the indictment. He could get a minimum of five years under U.S. sentencing guidelines if convicted on all counts.