Trump Lawyer Drew Findling Donated $1,440 To Fani Willis 2020 Campaign For Fulton County District Attorney. According to Rolling Stone, “DREW FINDLING HAS a storied history within the Georgia legal world. The high-profile Atlanta attorney is known for representing celebrity clients like Cardi B, Migos’ Offset, DaBaby, and NBA Youngboy, garnering him the moniker #BillionDollarLawyer. Findling has also been a frequent backer of Democratic political figures, so much so that in 2020 he donated to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ primary campaign. The donation wouldn’t normally raise eyebrows, except that Findling is currently one of Donald Trump’s lead attorneys helping the former president fight RICO charges handed down by Willis on Monday. Findling donated $1,440 to Willis’ district attorney bid in July of 2020, according to campaign disclosure reports flagged by American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic research outfit. Findling joined Trump’s legal team in August of last year.” [Rolling Stone, 8/15/23]
Willis Launched An Investigation Of The Trump-Raffensperger Phone Call Days After Being Sworn In As District Attorney In 2021. According to Rolling Stone, “Willis assumed office on Jan. 1, 2021, amid the chaotic aftermath of the 2020 election. The former district prosecutor ran on a platform of judicial transparency and recidivism prevention. Willis was already well known within Georgia legal circles as an assertive figure unafraid of trying complex and controversial cases — especially when it came to organized crime. Days after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, she launched an investigation into a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump had attempted to convince Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ‘find’ the votes necessary to secure victory in the state.” [Rolling Stone, 8/15/23]
Willis Charged Trump And 18 Others In A 41-Count RICO Indictment For Trying To Reverse The 2020 Election. According to Rolling Stone, “Willis won her 2020 election, and most recently used her post to level a 41-count RICO indictment against Trump and 18 of his associates over their efforts to interfere with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia and other states. The charges against the former president include solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, and making false statements and writings.” [Rolling Stone, 8/15/23]
Findling Was The First Attorney Named In The Statement By Trump’s Legal Team Criticizing The Indictment. According to Rolling Stone, “Trump’s legal team responded to the indictment, as well, writing in a statement that Willis and prosecutors’ created a ‘one-sided grand jury presentation’ that ‘relied on witnesses who harbor their own personal and political interests — some of whom ran campaigns touting their efforts against the accused and/or profited from book deals and employment opportunities as a result.’ ‘We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been,’ they added. Findling’s name was the statement’s first attribution.” [Rolling Stone, 8/15/23]
Findling Called Trump’s Comments About The Central Park Five “Racist, Cruel, Sick, Unforgivable And Un-American.” According to Rolling Stone, “Findling is by no means a Trump loyalist. The attorney has spent years publicly bashing Trump on a myriad of issues. In response to Trump’s targeting of the Central Park Five, Findling called his statements ‘racist, cruel, sick, unforgivable and un-American.’” [Rolling Stone, 8/15/23]
Findling Called Trump’s Comments About LeBron James “Pathetic.” According to Rolling Stone, “When Trump attacked NBA superstar Lebron James as unintelligent, Findling called him ‘pathetic.’.” [Rolling Stone, 8/15/23]
VIDEO: Findling Claimed Trump “Decimated” First Amendment Rights When Protesters Were Cleared Away From The White House. According to an Instagram post by Findling via YouTube, “FINDLING: But on Monday, June 1st, when innocent protesters were cleared off the streets of Washington, D.C., so that the president can make his way to the St. Thomas Episcopal Church and literally the First Amendment rights be decimated and people be physically wounded. That triggered me because those who have shared my stories about my mom know how politically engaged she was. And so that is a day that really has me non-stop thinking. So I want to share some of my thoughts. One is I admire every single protester. I admire everybody fighting for the cause of Black Lives Matters. People that have heard me speak around America know how much I admire and believe in that movement.” [Findling Instagram post via YouTube, 6/8/20]
VIDEO: Findling Said Trump Insulting The Black Lives Matter Movement “Is Symbolic Of Tyranny” And Election Day 2020 Would Be “The Real Independence Of This Country.” According to an Instagram post by Findling via YouTube, “FINDLING: But what's bothersome to me, while we condemned 1776 tyranny, we're seeing it in front of our own eyes instead of the president of this country applauding you, which everyone should do. He has sit. He has sat there and criticized you. He has said that these protesters are just horrible, horrible people. He has said that Black Lives Matter is a symbol of hate. I mean, that is crazy and what that is, is symbolic of tyranny, and so the day that I'm looking for, the day that I think will be the Declaration of Independence, the real independence of this country will be November 3rd of 2020. Here’s why. It will be your opportunity to let your voices be heard from July 4th, 2020 to November 3rd 2020. When you take to the streets, when you take to the airwaves when you take to the Internet to let people know that you want to resolve all inequities. And the best way that you can do that is to let your voices be heard on the streets and in the ballot box. And then one day in the history books, people will look back at these protests and look back at the difference you made when you voted and you put an end to tyranny in this country.” [Findling Instagram post via YouTube, 7/4/20]
2018: Headline Of Findling’s Opinion Piece: “From the President: Locking Up Human Decency.” [Opinion – Drew Findling, Champion, June 2019]
2018: Findling Criticized Trump’s Pardon Of Joe Arpaio. According to an opinion piece by Findling in the Champion, “In the most extreme situations, inmate abuse is even publicly praised and celebrated. In the case of former Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff Joe Arpaio’s ‘tent city’ jails — where inmates were forced to endure extreme weather conditions amongst other horrors — the outdoor jails were proudly touted as being tough on crime and left in place for 24 years. He lovingly referred to these jails as ‘concentration camps,’ failed to explain or investigate nearly half of all inmate deaths on his watch, and the county paid tens of millions of dollars in wrongful death and injury settlements. Arpaio brazenly defied court orders to stop his practice of unconstitutional profiling, which led to his felony conviction for contempt of court. Despite all this, President Trump pardoned Arpaio and commended him as being an ‘American patriot.’” [Opinion – Drew Findling, Champion, June 2019]
Findling Donated $8,400 To Joe Biden Committees In 2020. According to Rolling Stone, “He also heavily advocated for President Joe Biden during the 2020 election cycle, donating a total of $8,400 to the Biden Victory Fund and his campaign.” [Rolling Stone, 8/15/23]
September 2023: Findling Left Trump’s Legal Team After A Power Struggle With Boris Epstheyn. According to Rolling Stone, “LAST MONTH, WHEN Donald Trump parted ways with ‘Billion Dollar Lawyer’ Drew Findling as his lead criminal defense attorney in the Fulton County, Georgia, case, the decision was then met with surprise and dismay, including among some of Trump’s closest advisers and lawyers. At first, the reasons behind the departure were opaque, with several high-ranking members of Team Trump asking one another why the ex-president would ditch someone who was internally viewed as perhaps Trump’s single most competent attorney. Findling was in the middle of leading the legal defense against the one prosecution that is likely the most perilous for Trump — and the lawyer was replaced just as the former president was about to have his historic mug shot taken in Georgia. But as the dust settled, some of the reasons behind this shakeup became clearer. According to three sources with knowledge of the matter, the high-profile departure was largely driven by the same kind of power struggles that have long plagued Trump’s legal teams, even (or, especially) during times when Trump is trying his hardest to stay out of prison. Those problems only intensified when it became clear that Fulton County prosecutors were going to pursue a wide-ranging indictment of Trump and many of his confidants; it was the kind of nightmare scenario that Findling, well-known for his successful defenses of Cardi B and Offset, was hired to attempt to prevent. The sources say that the problems stemmed in part from the tensions between Boris Epstheyn, a senior advisor to Trump who has also acted as an in-house counsel to the former president throughout the various criminal cases against him, and Findling.” [Rolling Stone, 9/22/23]