When former President Donald Trump surrenders himself to sheriff’s deputies at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday, he’ll do so with new legal representation that is well-versed in Georgia RICO laws.
A report from Atlanta television station WSB-TV states that Trump has turned to none other than Steve Sadow, who recently represented Gunna in the YSL case. A source to CNN credited him as the “best criminal defense attorney in Georgia.”
Former Dekalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan referred to Sadow as a “courtroom warrior” who is “very experienced in Fulton County courtrooms.”
In a 2021 interview, the Atlanta-based lawyer voiced his concerns about the admissible evidence in RICO cases, like the one his new client faces.
“The president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him…Prosecutions intended to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the president have no place in our justice system,” Sadow added in a statement confirming his hiring by Trump.
Gunna, born Sergio Kitchens, was arrested in May 2022 as part of the RICO case against Young Thug’s Young Slime Life crew. Sadow helped Kitchens secure a plea deal for a five-year suspended sentence and 500 hours of community service.
Aside from Gunna, Sadow provided his legal services to a “who’s who” of hip-hop, including T.I., Rick Ross, and Usher.
Sadow is replacing Drew Findling, a self-described specialist in “white collar and high profile defenses.” Findling was hired just last year as Georgia’s criminal investigation into possible election interference began heating up.
Findling had been critical of Trump multiple times in the past, including a 2018 tweet calling him “the racist architect of fraudulent Trump University” and”pathetic.” He also donated to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the same person who has brought charges against the former president.
According to the CNN report, Findling’s dismissal is unrelated to his past social media posts or his performance as an attorney. Trump is expected to retain former DeKalb County prosecutor Jennifer Little to work alongside Sadow.
The former president is one of 19 defendants in the state case related to an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump is facing a total of 13 charges, including violation of the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of an oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery, making false statements and writing, and filing of false documents.
On Thursday morning, Willis requested that the trial for all defendants start on Oct. 24, significantly earlier than her original proposed date of March 4, 2024. Judge Scott McAfee has only approved the expedited timeline for election attorney Kenneth Chesebro. Trump’s team has asked for a delay until after next November’s Presidential election, in which Trump is the Republican frontrunner.
