Former President Donald Trump switched lawyers just hours before his scheduled surrender Thursday in Fulton County, Georgia on dozens of criminal charges related to his efforts to overturn Georgia’s presidential election in 2020.
Steve Sadow, an Atlanta-based defense attorney who has handled other high-profile cases, filed paperwork in court Thursday morning to represent Mr. Trump. He replaced Drew Findling as the lead attorney for Mr. Trump.
“I have been retained to represent President Trump in the Fulton County, Georgia case,” Mr. Sadow said in a statement. “The president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him.”
In Georgia, Mr. Trump is accused of orchestrating a racketeering conspiracy to undermine the 2020 election under the state’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.
Mr. Sadow has challenged the RICO statute, telling the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 2021 that it’s been “overused” and that the law is too broad.
In his statement, he suggested Mr. Trump’s defense will be based in part on proving the case is politically motivated.
“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 ambition and careers of political opponents of the president have no place in our justice system,” Mr. Sadow said in his statement.
Mr. Sadow’s website describes him as “special counsel for white collar and high profile defense.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, received a letter from House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan Thursday announcing that the committee has opened an investigation to see if her intentions were “politically motivated.”
This is the fourth time this year that Mr. Trump has faced criminal charges.
