Former President Donald Trump reportedly hired a new lawyer in his Georgia election interference case as celebrity lawyer Drew Findling is likely to depart the team—a shake-up that comes hours before Trump is expected to surrender in Fulton County.
Former President Donald J. Trump at the first tee during the final round of LIV Golf Bedminster on ... [+]
Trump has hired Steven Sadow, a prominent Georgia attorney who specializes in high-profile defense and white collar crime, ABC News and the New York Times reported.
Sadow confirmed he’s been retained to ABC, telling the outlet Trump “should never have been indicted” and is “innocent of all the charges brought against him,” adding that he will seek to have the case dismissed.
Findling, a prominent lawyer among Atlanta’s hip hop community who has represented Trump in the case for about a year, is expected to leave Trump’s legal team as Sadow takes the role of lead counsel, the outlets reported, citing sources.
Trump attorney Jennifer Little is reportedly expected to stay on and work alongside Sadow.
Trump said he will surrender later Thursday to Fulton County authorities after he was charged last week with 13 felonies, including racketeering, for his efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia. Findling and Little, along with attorney Marissa Goldberg (whose future status on Trump’s legal team is unclear based on the Times and ABC reports) helped Trump negotiate an agreement earlier this week to post a $200,000 bond in exchange for his release. His 18 co-defendants began surrendering Tuesday ahead of Friday’s deadline, were booked in the Fulton County Jail and the sheriff’s office later released their mug shots—a process authorities are expected to follow for Trump, which would mark the first time the ex-president will have his mug shot taken.
Trump is a notoriously tough client to work for and has a history of shaking up his legal teams. He reportedly struggled to find attorneys willing to represent him in the Justice Department’s classified documents case against him, after he lost at least three of his lawyers working on the probe, Tim Parlatore, Jim Trusty and John Rowland, earlier this year. Parlatore reportedly left after a disagreement with one of Trump’s advisors, he told CNN.. Trusty also quit a defamation case Trump filed against CNN in Florida, citing “irreconcilable differences.”
Findling has made his name working for a long list of Atlanta hip-hop stars, who have fondly referred to him as a “magician,” a “god in the streets,” a “witch doctor” and the “Billion Dollar Lawyer.” He recently represented longtime client Cardi B in her mic-throwing case.
Trump Couldn’t Find New Lawyers For Arraignment, Reports Say (Forbes)
Trump Attorney Jim Trusty Quits—Again—Over 'Irreconcilable Differences' (Forbes)