Renee Chenault-Fattah out at NBC10

Renee Chenault-Fattah, the longtime NBC10 news anchor, has parted ways with the station, six months after she was placed on leave following the federal indictment of her husband, U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah.

"Renee Chenault-Fattah no longer works at NBC10," the station said in an email Tuesday. "She remains a friend and valued colleague to all of us. We are truly grateful for her many years of service to the station and our viewers."

NBC10 would not say if Chenault-Fattah, who anchored the 4 and 6 p.m. broadcasts, had agreed to leave or was fired.

Chenault-Fattah, 58, a lawyer who went to work for NBC10 in 1991, did not respond to requests for comment. She announced her departure on Facebook about 30 minutes after NBC10 released a statement in response to questions from a reporter.

"My love for the people of the Delaware Valley goes all the way back to my days as a law student at Penn," she wrote. "I have had a terrific 24 years as a reporter and anchor at NBC10 and I wish the team all the best."

Chenault-Fattah wrote that she was "excited and optimistic about the opportunities that await. Stay tuned."

Chenault-Fattah's high-profile position in a television news organization that covers her husband's career had caused potential conflicts of interest, especially after he was criminally charged.

The potential for conflict was also apparent in the coverage of the federal criminal case against Fattah's son, Chaka "Chip" Jr., who was convicted in November on unrelated theft and fraud charges. He promptly arranged with NBC10 to broadcast his first post-conviction interview.

Chenault-Fattah's job also became an issue when her husband sought the Democratic mayoral nomination in 2007. He was the only candidate who refused to release his tax returns, citing an NBC10 confidentiality agreement about his wife's salary.

Chenault-Fattah said later that the station had waived that provision, but that she decided to keep her salary private anyway.

Fattah, who is paid $174,000 a year as a congressman, has for years put "N/A," short for "not applicable," on the line in annual financial-disclosure forms requesting the amount of a spouse's salary.

The couple's finances have been under scrutiny as Fattah, 58, dealt with the expense of the federal investigation. Fattah's most recent campaign-finance report, filed Jan. 31, listed $42,781 in legal debt.

Last month, a federal judge ordered Fattah's lawyers to keep working on his defense after they petitioned to be dismissed because they were not being paid.

Fattah added two lawyers to his defense team Friday.

In their 85-page federal indictment of the congressman, prosecutors referred to Chenault-Fattah as "Person E" and described her an "affiliate of the Fattah enterprise."

The indictment cast her as a participant in a scheme to falsely report the 2012 sale of her 1989 Porsche Carrera convertible to lobbyist Herbert Vederman for $18,000. Chenault-Fattah and her husband used the money to help purchase a vacation home in the Poconos but kept the car, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said the payment was part of a "bribery scheme" in which Vederman sought Fattah's assistance in securing an appointment as ambassador to the U.S. Trade Commission.

After the sale, they said, Chenault-Fattah kept the car in her garage for more than two years, and paid to insure and service it. In a letter to NBC10 after the indictment, Chenault-Fattah wrote that she did so because Vederman had no place to keep it.

"I know this was a legitimate sale, but this is not likely to go away anytime soon," she wrote in portions of the letter made public on NBC10's website.

Her husband, now seeking a 12th term in the House while due to go on trial six days after the April 26 Democratic primary, is charged with racketeering, bank fraud, bribery, and money laundering in what prosecutors said was a scheme to repay an illegal loan to his 2007 mayoral campaign.

He has pleaded not guilty.

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@ByChrisBrennan