Trump shakes up Georgia legal team ahead of surrender
From CNN's Kristen Holmes
Drew Findling poses for a photo in Atlanta in February. Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump has replaced his top Georgia lawyer ahead of his surrender Thursday evening, sources tell CNN.
Drew Findling, the lawyer who has led Trump’s defense in Georgia, is being replaced by Steven Sadow, an Atlanta-based attorney whose website profile describes him as a “special counsel for white collar and high profile defense.”
Sadow confirmed this appointment in a statement, and said the former President "should never have been indicted."
"He is innocent of all the charges brought against him,” the statement read. “We look forward to the case being dismissed or, if necessary, an unbiased, open minded jury finding the President not guilty. Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the President have no place in our justice system.”
A Trump source indicated that this was not about Findling’s performance while another familiar with Sadow called him the “best criminal defense attorney in Georgia.”
In 2021, Sadow criticized RICO charges as a way for prosecutors to introduce evidence that would otherwise not be admissible during an interview about the potential charges Trump faced in Georgia.
16 min ago
House Judiciary Committee likely to initiate inquiry into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis
From CNN's Annie Grayer and Melanie Zanona
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives for a press conference at the Fulton County Government Center in Atlanta on August 14. John Bazemore/AP
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is expected to open a congressional investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as soon as Thursday, a source tells CNN – the same day former President Donald Trump is slated to surrender at the county jail after being charged for participating in schemes to meddle with Georgia’s 2020 election results.
The committee is expected to ask Willis whether she was coordinating with the Justice Department, which has indicted Trump twice in two separate cases, or used federal dollars to complete her investigation that culminated in the fourth indictment of Trump, the source added. The anticipated questions from Republicans about whether Willis used federal funding in her state-level investigation mirrors the same line of inquiry that Republicans used to probe Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump in New York for falsifying business records to cover up an alleged hush money scheme.
Meanwhile, Georgia Republicans could launch their own state-level investigation into Willis’ probe, according to GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has spoken to top officials in the state about a potential probe. She has also been pushing for a congressional-led inquiry into Willis, who has previously dismissed GOP accusations accusing her of being partisan and consistently defended her investigation.
“I’m going to be talking to (House Judiciary Chair) Jim Jordan, (House Oversight Chair) JamieComer, and I’d like to also ask (Speaker) Kevin McCarthy his thoughts on looking at doing an investigation if there is a collaboration or conspiracy of any kind between the Department of Justice and Jack Smith’s special counsel’s office with the state DA’s,” Greene told CNN. “So, I think that could be a place of oversight.”
Trump will surrender in Atlanta today in fourth criminal case brought against him this year
From CNN's Devan Cole
The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta is seen on Wednesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump will surrender on Thursday to be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results, the fourth time this year the former president has faced criminal charges.
Trump is expected to travel from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to Atlanta to turn himself in at the notorious Fulton County jail.
Like several of his 18 co-defendants who have already surrendered at the jail, Trump’s processing through the facility will likely be completed quickly because the former president and his lawyers negotiated his consent bond agreement ahead of Thursday. Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, including not using social media to target the co-defendants and witnesses in the case.
Trump’s surrender in Georgia marks the fourth time this year the former president has turned himself in to local or federal officials after criminal charges were brought against him – episodes that had never been seen in the US before 2023.
In April, the former president was booked in New York on state charges related to a hush money scheme. In June, he surrendered at a Miami federal courthouse to face charges in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into the mishandling of classified documents. And earlier this month, Trump was placed under arrest in Washington, DC, and arraigned on charges brought by Smith in his investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the sprawling racketeering case last week following a yearslong investigation, has asked for Trump and the other 18 defendants to be arraigned next month. Defendants have until noon on Friday to surrender.
1 min ago
Trump will put up a cash bond for the first time in the Fulton County criminal case
From CNN's Devan Cole
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 7. Scott Morgan/Reuters
The Fulton County election subversion case marks the first time release conditions for former President Donald Trump have included a cash bond and a prohibition on intimidation through social media.
The criminal case is the fourth brought against the former president this year.
In the previous cases, the conditions for Trump’s release after arrest and pending trial have been largely routine:
Florida: In the Mar-a-Lago documents case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith, Trump was released on personal recognizance, though there was some pushback from his attorneys on the restrictions that were imposed on his contact with witnesses in that case.
Washington, DC: Trump also was released on minimal conditions in Smith’s federal election subversion case brought in Washington, DC. Those conditions include not being allowed to communicate with anyone known to be a witness in the case unless through an attorney.
New York: In the New York hush money case, Trump was ordered to not communicate about the case with anyone central to it except through one of his attorneys.
1 min ago
Trump agreed to $200,000 bond in Fulton County criminal case. Here are key things to know
From CNN's Zachary Cohen, Holmes Lybrand and Devan Cole
Former President Donald Trump pauses for cheers from the crowd before speaking as the keynote speaker at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party on August 5, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions after his lawyers met with the Fulton County district attorney's office on Monday, according to court documents reviewed by CNN.
The release conditions outlined in Trump’s bond order are more extensive than those laid out in the other bond orders approved earlier.
Unlike some of his co-defendants, the former president is barred from using social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses or the 30 unindicted co-conspirators.
“The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” the order signed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee states. “The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media,” the order reads.
The order also prohibits Trump from communicating "directly or indirectly" about the case with any of his co-defendants or witnesses in the case, except through his attorneys. A similar provision has been included in bond orders for some of his co-defendants.
The order is also signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and three Trump attorneys: Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little.
Trump's bond agreement: Trump agreed earlier this week to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, according to court documents. Trump is explicitly barred in the bond order from using social media to target the co-defendants and witnesses.
Other surrenders: Three of Trump’s key election lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani, surrendered Wednesday. A federal judge rejected efforts by former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and ex-DOJ official Jeffrey Clark to avoid arrest.
The charges: Trump is accused in the indictment of being the head of a “criminal enterprise” that was part of a broad conspiracy to overturn his electoral defeat in the state. The former president faces 91 charges across four separate criminal cases.
Drew Findling poses for a photo in Atlanta in February. Dustin Chambers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump has replaced his top Georgia lawyer ahead of his surrender Thursday evening, sources tell CNN.
Drew Findling, the lawyer who has led Trump’s defense in Georgia, is being replaced by Steven Sadow, an Atlanta-based attorney whose website profile describes him as a “special counsel for white collar and high profile defense.”
Sadow confirmed this appointment in a statement, and said the former President "should never have been indicted."
"He is innocent of all the charges brought against him,” the statement read. “We look forward to the case being dismissed or, if necessary, an unbiased, open minded jury finding the President not guilty. Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the President have no place in our justice system.”
A Trump source indicated that this was not about Findling’s performance while another familiar with Sadow called him the “best criminal defense attorney in Georgia.”
In 2021, Sadow criticized RICO charges as a way for prosecutors to introduce evidence that would otherwise not be admissible during an interview about the potential charges Trump faced in Georgia.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives for a press conference at the Fulton County Government Center in Atlanta on August 14. John Bazemore/AP
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee is expected to open a congressional investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as soon as Thursday, a source tells CNN – the same day former President Donald Trump is slated to surrender at the county jail after being charged for participating in schemes to meddle with Georgia’s 2020 election results.
The committee is expected to ask Willis whether she was coordinating with the Justice Department, which has indicted Trump twice in two separate cases, or used federal dollars to complete her investigation that culminated in the fourth indictment of Trump, the source added. The anticipated questions from Republicans about whether Willis used federal funding in her state-level investigation mirrors the same line of inquiry that Republicans used to probe Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump in New York for falsifying business records to cover up an alleged hush money scheme.
Meanwhile, Georgia Republicans could launch their own state-level investigation into Willis’ probe, according to GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has spoken to top officials in the state about a potential probe. She has also been pushing for a congressional-led inquiry into Willis, who has previously dismissed GOP accusations accusing her of being partisan and consistently defended her investigation.
“I’m going to be talking to (House Judiciary Chair) Jim Jordan, (House Oversight Chair) JamieComer, and I’d like to also ask (Speaker) Kevin McCarthy his thoughts on looking at doing an investigation if there is a collaboration or conspiracy of any kind between the Department of Justice and Jack Smith’s special counsel’s office with the state DA’s,” Greene told CNN. “So, I think that could be a place of oversight.”
The Fulton County Jail in Atlanta is seen on Wednesday. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump will surrender on Thursday to be booked on more than a dozen charges stemming from his efforts to reverse Georgia’s 2020 election results, the fourth time this year the former president has faced criminal charges.
Trump is expected to travel from his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club to Atlanta to turn himself in at the notorious Fulton County jail.
Like several of his 18 co-defendants who have already surrendered at the jail, Trump’s processing through the facility will likely be completed quickly because the former president and his lawyers negotiated his consent bond agreement ahead of Thursday. Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions, including not using social media to target the co-defendants and witnesses in the case.
Trump’s surrender in Georgia marks the fourth time this year the former president has turned himself in to local or federal officials after criminal charges were brought against him – episodes that had never been seen in the US before 2023.
In April, the former president was booked in New York on state charges related to a hush money scheme. In June, he surrendered at a Miami federal courthouse to face charges in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into the mishandling of classified documents. And earlier this month, Trump was placed under arrest in Washington, DC, and arraigned on charges brought by Smith in his investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who brought the sprawling racketeering case last week following a yearslong investigation, has asked for Trump and the other 18 defendants to be arraigned next month. Defendants have until noon on Friday to surrender.
Former President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on July 7. Scott Morgan/Reuters
The Fulton County election subversion case marks the first time release conditions for former President Donald Trump have included a cash bond and a prohibition on intimidation through social media.
The criminal case is the fourth brought against the former president this year.
In the previous cases, the conditions for Trump’s release after arrest and pending trial have been largely routine:
Florida: In the Mar-a-Lago documents case brought against him by special counsel Jack Smith, Trump was released on personal recognizance, though there was some pushback from his attorneys on the restrictions that were imposed on his contact with witnesses in that case.
Washington, DC: Trump also was released on minimal conditions in Smith’s federal election subversion case brought in Washington, DC. Those conditions include not being allowed to communicate with anyone known to be a witness in the case unless through an attorney.
New York: In the New York hush money case, Trump was ordered to not communicate about the case with anyone central to it except through one of his attorneys.
Former President Donald Trump pauses for cheers from the crowd before speaking as the keynote speaker at the 56th Annual Silver Elephant Dinner hosted by the South Carolina Republican Party on August 5, 2023, in Columbia, South Carolina. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond and other release conditions after his lawyers met with the Fulton County district attorney's office on Monday, according to court documents reviewed by CNN.
The release conditions outlined in Trump’s bond order are more extensive than those laid out in the other bond orders approved earlier.
Unlike some of his co-defendants, the former president is barred from using social media to target his 18 co-defendants in the case, as well as any witnesses or the 30 unindicted co-conspirators.
“The Defendant shall perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice,” the order signed by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee states. “The above shall include, but are not limited to, posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media,” the order reads.
The order also prohibits Trump from communicating "directly or indirectly" about the case with any of his co-defendants or witnesses in the case, except through his attorneys. A similar provision has been included in bond orders for some of his co-defendants.
The order is also signed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and three Trump attorneys: Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg and Jennifer Little.
