While former president Donald Trump was preparing to surrender at an Atlanta jail on Thursday, he was apparently also reconsidering his legal defense team.
Just hours before Trump is supposed to turn himself in, reports broke that he had shaken up his team. Criminal defense lawyer Steve Sadow is reportedly going to replace Trump’s existing lawyer, Drew Findling, according to the New York Times.
Notably, Findling, alongside Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg, was key in negotiating Trump’s $200,000 bond.
Little will reportedly stay on the team.
In a statement to ABC News, Sadow said: “I have been retained to represent President Trump in the Fulton county, Georgia case. The president should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him. 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.”
The Guardian has contacted Sadow for further comment.
The latest shake-up with Trump’s legal team comes as the former president is expected to surrender at a Fulton county jail Thursday night, announcing his plans in a post to Truth social.
“Can you believe it? I’ll be going to Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday to be ARRESTED by a Radical Left District Attorney, Fani Willis, who is overseeing one of the greatest Murder and Violent Crime DISASTERS in American History,” Trump posted on his social media platform on Monday, referring to the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis.
Trump will be booked on 13 felony charges in connection with his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
Last week, Trump along with 18 co-defendants was charged with 41 indictments that accuse them of attempting to overturn the election results through election fraud and other criminal means.
As part of Thursday’s booking, Trump will be fingerprinted, weighed and have his mugshot recorded, which are all standard processing protocol.
The former president has attempted to get an exemption from having his photograph taken, but county jail officials have said Trump will be treated no differently than other criminal defendants.
Trump is expected to be immediately released after the booking, but must follow strict rules related to witness intimidation, according to court documents.
