Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark,

a member of Hussein's defense team,

told CNN he believed the delay actually

was "because the judges couldn't agree on what to do, because they put in new political people, because there's pressure on them."

New top judge appointed

On Monday, officials had said the trial would resume with a new chief judge.

Raouf Rasheed Abdel-Rahman, a Kurd, will be the interim new chief judge, the chief investigator who prepared evidence for the case, Raid Juhi, said.

Abdel-Rahman replaces Rizgar Mohammed Amin, who resigned January 15 for "personal reasons."

Authorities had urged Amin to remain chief judge, or at least to remain on the five-judge panel, but were unable to persuade him.

Amin has been strongly criticized inside Iraq for allowing Hussein and his seven co-defendants to speak out of turn and make accusations against the court and the U.S. occupation. (Special Report: Saddam Hussein on trial)

Saeed al-Hameshi, Amin's top adviser, was transferred to another case, an official with the Iraqi High Tribunal said.

No reason was given for al-Hameshi's dropping out, but he has faced allegations from Iraq's de-Baathification committee that he was a member of the Baath Party under Hussein. The de-Baathification committee is working to ensure that Baath Party members do not play major roles in the new government.

A Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information, told CNN Sunday that he had seen no evidence suggesting al-Hameshi was in the Baath Party.

Authorities at the Iraqi High Tribunal said al-Hameshi will be replaced but did not publicly name his replacement.

Clark: 'Pure chaos'

"The trial has never been on track," Clark said. "What you have is pure chaos."

Hussein's defense team filed briefs on the court's legality and the court has not replied, Clark said.

"The court is clearly illegal, created by the United States during a military occupation. And it's not conceivable that this court could be legal," he said.