According to Mediate, in a flurry of legal maneuvers that unfolded just hours prior to his impending arrest in Georgia, former President Donald Trump orchestrated significant changes within his legal team. As the anticipation mounted for his surrender in the face of an indictment on 13 counts related to election crimes, Trump’s legal strategy took a dramatic turn, marked by the engagement of a fresh legal mind and the potential removal of another prominent lawyer.
The seismic legal shifts transpired against the backdrop of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ announcement of a new indictment targeting Trump. The indictment, which encompassed a total of 13 charges tied to election-related offenses, reverberated through legal circles and political spheres alike. The timeline was set, and Trump, along with 18 co-defendants implicated in the indictment, was mandated to surrender for arrest and arraignment by August 25, with Trump publicly affirming his intention to comply on a Thursday.
Adding to the intensity of the impending legal proceedings, Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat cast a spotlight on the potential spectacle that awaited Trump upon arrest. Labat made it unequivocally clear that should the arrest come to pass, a mugshot of Trump would be taken and subsequently disseminated to the media—a move that guaranteed an unparalleled media frenzy and heightened attention on the unfolding events.
However, deftly navigating the tumultuous legal landscape, Trump executed a strategic overhaul of his legal team, with rumors that he’ll fire multiple lawyers. News broke that a seasoned criminal defense lawyer, Steve Sadow, had been enlisted to bolster Trump’s defense efforts. Sadow, with a track record of handling high-profile cases, injected a fresh dynamic into the ex-President’s legal defense.
This pivotal decision followed closely on the heels of developments involving Trump’s existing legal representation. Drew Findling, one of Trump’s attorneys, and his Atlanta-based legal counterparts, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg, had recently orchestrated a successful negotiation securing a $200,000 bond for Trump. This legal victory came within the context of a far-reaching racketeering indictment that implicated Trump and 18 others in an alleged “criminal enterprise” aimed at overturning the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia.
As the legal landscape continued to shift, sources within the legal sphere hinted to prominent journalists, including New York Times correspondent Maggie Haberman, that Findling might not retain his position in Trump’s legal team. On the other hand, it was suggested that Little’s role would be maintained, adding a layer of intrigue to the evolving legal strategy.
Curiously coinciding with these legal upheavals was Trump’s decision to surrender a day after the inaugural GOP debate aired on Fox News. Some speculators posited that this timing was calculated—a strategic maneuver designed to divert attention away from other contenders in the ongoing presidential race, effectively positioning Trump’s legal proceedings at the forefront of media coverage.
Just before his visit to an Atlanta jail to be booked on 13 felony counts, Donald J. Trump has shaken up his Georgia legal defense team, adding Steve Sadow, a veteran criminal defense lawyer who has taken on a number of high-profile cases.
Mr. Trump’s decision comes soon after one of his lawyers, Drew Findling, and his two other lawyers in Atlanta, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg, negotiated a $200,000 bond for Mr. Trump, who is one of 19 defendants in a sweeping racketeering indictment charging them with engaging in a “criminal enterprise” that sought to overturn Mr. Trump’s 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Mr. Findling is unlikely to be kept on, according to a person familiar with the matter, while Ms. Little will be retained.
