Dealing with a sweeping racketeering case in Atlanta, former President Donald Trump has employed lawyer Steven Sadow, a veteran Georgia legal protection lawyer who simply represented Gunna within the high-profile legal case towards Younger Thug and different rappers.
Sadow, who has additionally represented Rick Ross, T.I. and Usher prior to now, filed authorized papers Thursday morning (Aug. 24) in Fulton County Courtroom stating that he was “lead counsel of document for Donald John Trump.” When reached by Billboard, Sadow confirmed that had been employed to characterize the previous president.
“The President ought to by no means have been indicted,” says Sadow. “He’s harmless of all the costs introduced towards him. We look ahead to the case being dismissed or, if essential, an unbiased, open-minded jury discovering the President not responsible. Prosecutions meant to advance or serve the ambitions and careers of political opponents of the President haven’t any place in our justice system.”
Trump, who is anticipated to give up to prosecutors on Thursday, is dealing with 13 felony counts as a part of an enormous racketeering case towards 19 defendants accused of attempting to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Fulton County DA Fani Willis filed the costs below Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a state-level model of the federal RICO regulation used to prosecute drug cartels and Mafia households.
That’s the identical RICO statute that the identical Fulton County prosecutor utilized in Could 2022 to indict Younger Thug, Gunna and dozens of others over their alleged involvement in a violent Atlanta avenue gang. The case claims that their “YSL” just isn’t actually a document label known as “Younger Stoner Life,” however a legal enterprise known as “Younger Slime Life” that dedicated murders, carjackings, armed robberies, drug dealing and different crimes.
Represented by Sadow, Gunna pleaded responsible in December to exit that case by taking a so-called Alford plea — a maneuver that permits a defendant to enter a proper act of contrition whereas nonetheless sustaining their innocence.
On the time, Gunna insisted that the deal didn’t contain cooperation with prosecutors. However when he entered his plea, Gunna admitted in court docket that YSL was each “a music label and a gang,” and that he had “private information that members or associates of YSL have dedicated crimes in furtherance of the gang.”
Younger Thug and lots of others are nonetheless dealing with these expenses. A trial technically kicked off earlier this 12 months however has confronted lengthy delays in choosing a jury to listen to the case and has not substantively begun but. Younger Thug has repeatedly been denied pre-trial launch on bond.
Sadow will take over representing Trump from Drew Findling, one other Atlanta lawyer with an intensive historical past representing rappers in legal issues, together with Gucci Mane, the members of Migos and Cardi B in her latest microphone-throwing incident in Las Vegas.
Although Findling has not formally departed the case but, an individual with information of the scenario confirmed to Billboard that he’ll not be retained by the previous president. Findling himself didn’t return a request for touch upon Thursday.
Trump is anticipated to give up Thursday night at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, although he’ll solely be there briefly earlier than he’s launched on a negotiated bond. Whereas a number of the defendants within the YSL case are being held in the identical constructing, Younger Thug is detained in neighboring Cobb County Jail.
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