Nearly three years after he began serving one of the longest prison terms ever for a member of Congress, former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah returned to federal court in Philadelphia on Friday to push for a lighter sentence now that some of his convictions were overturned on appeal.
He left disappointed.
Citing his still-standing convictions on 13 other counts, U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III ordered the West Philadelphia Democrat to serve the full 10-year sentence he got in 2016.
Fattah arrived in court Friday in an olive prison jumpsuit with slightly grayer, slightly less hair than the last time he was there.
“I’ve spent some time thinking about my life and the decisions I’ve made and the impact that they’ve had,” he told the judge, describing his time at the federal prison in McKean County. “I have taken some responsibility for making some very bad choices. I’m deeply sorry for them.”