【《We Chinese in America》Media Editor Tang Zhao, August 18, 2022】former President Donald Trump has hired a prominent Atlanta lawyer to represent him in a criminal inquiry into election interference in Georgia. The lawyer, Drew Findling, has represented an array of rap stars including Cardi B, Gucci Mane and Migos, and is known by the hashtag #BillionDollarLawyer. But he is also well regarded for a range of criminal defense work that he has done in Georgia. (Drew Findling image from Getty Images)

Findling brings decades of trial experience ranging from high-profile murder cases to local political corruption scandals. But in the past, he has been openly — indeed, scathingly — critical of the former president.

Findling explained his decision to take on Trump by referring to John Adams, who took the unpopular position of representing British troops after the Boston Massacre.

“I do not believe that we choose our client or clients based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, political belief or the substantive issues involved in the crime,” he said. “We have our personal lives and we have our personal politics, and I don’t apologize for my personal politics.”

Findling also drew upon the kinds of First Amendment issues that often arise in criminal cases at the nexus of hip-hop and crime, and maintained that Trump had done nothing improper in Georgia. He mentioned Trump’s infamous taped phone call Jan. 2, 2021, with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state, and specifically addressed the moment when Trump pressed Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes that could overturn Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia, which some legal experts say may amount to solicitation to commit election fraud under Georgia law.

“Somebody listens to a rap song that lasts for four minutes and 11 seconds and pulls one verse out and tries to conjure up some type of criminal case out of it,” said Findling, who said that in both the phone call and a rap song, context was crucial.

Findling said he was part of a Georgia-based legal team now working for Trump that also includes Jennifer Little, a former DeKalb County prosecutor, and Dwight L. Thomas, a veteran defense lawyer who previously worked with the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Education Department.

Findling has previously been sharply critical of a crackdown on rappers and those accused of being gang members; he represents YFN Lucci, an Atlanta rap artist who was indicted on murder and racketeering charges in Fulton County last year.

Findling also has extensive experience with political clients. In 2013, he helped win the acquittal of Victor Hill, the sheriff of Clayton County, Georgia, who had been indicted on a host of corruption-related charges after an investigation by a special grand jury. Hill also retained Findling after he was federally indicted last year on numerous civil rights charges for the alleged mistreatment of detainees at the local jail. He has been suspended from his position pending a trial set for October.

Findling also recently represented Mitzi Bickers, who once worked in the administration of the former mayor of Atlanta, Kasim Reed, a Democrat. Bickers was convicted in March on nine federal corruption counts as part of a multimillion-dollar contracting and kickback scandal.

And he is representing John Oxendine, the former insurance commissioner of Georgia, a Republican who was indicted in May on federal charges of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Esther Panitch, a veteran Atlanta-area criminal defense lawyer and Democratic nominee for a state House seat, has known Findling for years. She called him “brilliant.”

“That being said, he needs a client who will listen to him,” she said.

(Source: yahoo/news)

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