The judge in the case against a Turkish gold trader represented by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and former U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said he will appoint independent counsel in the hearing to make sure the defendant understands the possible conflicts involved with his choice of counsel.

Southern District Judge Richard Berman's order that he intends to appoint Curcio counsel in the case comes after Giuliani and Mukasey stated in court papers that they were brought onto the legal team for Reza Zarrab, who is charged with conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions on Iran, to negotiate a possible diplomatic deal with the Turkish government.

Earlier this month, Berman ordered a Curcio hearing in the case to discuss potential conflicts of interest presented by Zarrab's retention of Giuliani, who is a senior adviser to Greenberg Traurig; and Mukasey, who is of counsel to Debevoise & Plimpton.