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By Aleks Phillips
U.S. News Reporter
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Donald Trump has swapped out his lead defense lawyer in the case against him in Georgia relating to allegations of a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, just hours before he is due to be arrested over the charges.
Drew Findling, who had been leading the former president's legal team in the case, has been replaced by Steven Sadow, a high-profile defense lawyer from Atlanta, court documents show.
A source close to Trump told CNN that the personnel change was not to do with Findling's performance in the case thus far, but described Sadow as the "best criminal defense attorney in Georgia."
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In a statement to the news network, Sadow confirmed he had been retained by the former president in his case in Fulton County.
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He added: "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."
A notice, filed with the Fulton County Superior Court shortly after 9 a.m. ET on Thursday and seen by Newsweek, confirmed Sadow as Trump's new lead counsel in the case.
The New York Times reported that Findling was unlikely to be kept on, according to individuals familiar with the matter.
Sadow referred questions to Trump's spokesperson. Newsweek also approached Findling and the Trump campaign via email for comment on Thursday.
Earlier in August, a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others over their alleged involvement in a plot to unlawfully change the state's presidential election results. The former president—who is facing three other criminal cases, including two involving federal charges—is facing 13 counts in total in connection to the indictment in Georgia.
In all the cases against him, Trump has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at arraignment hearings.
In a news conference on August 14, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis—who had been investigating Trump for the past two and a half years—gave the defendants "no later than noon" ET on Thursday to voluntarily surrender.
Trump is expected to leave his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club and head to Georgia to be arrested and arraigned, before returning to the club later in the day.
On his law practice's website, Sadow is described as a special counsel specializing in white-collar defense.
He has previously represented high-profile clients, including attorney Howard K. Stern, in a trial relating to the death of his partner and model Anna Nicole Smith, as well as singer Usher.
Sadow studied at Marietta College in Ohio before reading law at Emory University in Georgia.
It is not the first time Trump has decided to shake up one of his legal teams. In June, the former president replaced Jim Trusty and John Rowley with Todd Blanche in the federal case against him involving charges related to the alleged mishandling of classified documents that were uncovered by the FBI at his Florida residence last summer.
Update 08/24/23, 9:52 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include further details throughout.
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