A key attorney for indicted singer R. Kelly will remain part the defense team in the federal racketeering case against him in New York after she said a medical issue “briefly” prompted travel concerns.

       Nicole Blank Becker, who took over the case in June after Kelly said he wanted to part ways with his two Chicago-based attorneys, filed a motion to withdraw under seal last week, according to court records and sources who spoke to the Tribune.

       Over the weekend, an order from U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly appeared briefly on the public docket giving Becker until 5 p.m. Monday to submit a letter privately to the judge explaining the situation in more detail.

       The matter was dealt with briefly during Kelly’s final pretrial conference in Brooklyn that Becker participated in by telephone, Becker told the Tribune on Tuesday evening.

       She said her motion was prompted by a “brief medical scare” but that her doctors had since cleared her to travel to New York for the beginning of jury selection Monday.

       “I will be back in New York to continue to fight for justice,” she said.

       Also during Tuesday’s hearing, Kelly’s other attorneys revealed the singer has gained weight and lost money in two years in jail awaiting trial.

       Deveraux Cannick, another Kelly lawyer, told the judge during the hearing that Kelly needs to be measured for new clothing because he’s gained so much weight in jail.

       And he asked that court transcripts be provided at no cost because Kelly has been unable to work for two years.

       “His funds are depleted,” Cannick said of his client who left the courtroom after the hearing with his hands cuffed.

       Kelly, 54, was indicted in 2019 on racketeering charges alleging he ran a criminal enterprise that recruited women and underage girls for illegal sexual contact, then isolated and threatened them to keep them under control.

       The allegations in the indictment include dozens of acts involving six victims, identified only as Jane Does 1 through 6.

       But in a 55-page motion filed July 23, prosecutors said they want to bring in additional evidence involving sexual abuse, hush payments, unlawful imprisonment and other crimes dating back 30 years that are “directly relevant to and inextricably intertwined with the evidence of the charged crimes.”

       Donnelly ruled Tuesday that witnesses who allege abuse can testify with only their first name given to jurors, who will sit in the gallery rather than the jury box because of a reconfigured courtroom tied to coronavirus restrictions.

       Donnelly also said she will generally not allow questions aimed at revealing if any of the women have had mental health treatment. She said she will not allow the jurors to be told that one witness had worked as an exotic dancer years after she said she was abused.

       Also likely to be excluded from the trial is any testimony about religious beliefs or that some of the women were directed to have sex with one another, the judge said.

       Prospective jurors have already filled out questionnaires aimed at ensuring they have no biases that would affect their judgment. They will begin answering questions Monday.

       The judge ruled last week that the public and the media will be banned from the New York courtroom after 12 news organizations asked that six reporters be permitted inside because watching a portion of the courtroom on monitors in two overflow rooms was insufficient and might not constitute an open proceeding. She cited the coronavirus restrictions.

       As he left the courthouse Tuesday, Cannick was asked if the closing of the courtroom might be grounds for appeal if his client is convicted.

       He smiled and said, “If there was a conviction, we’d use every error that was made” in an appeal.

       Opening statements are scheduled for Aug. 18. The trial is expected to last at least a month.

       Kelly, who is being held at a federal jail in Brooklyn, also faces charges in U.S. District Court in Chicago related to alleged sex abuse of minors, as well as separate indictments brought in Cook County.

       The Associated Press contributed.

       jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

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