Donald Trump’s new lawyer has previously made highly critical statements about his client it has emerged, calling him “racist” and “pathetic”.
Drew Findling was hired last year to represent the former president in court for the Georgia election case, where Trump has been accused by the Department of Justice of conspiring to overturn the 2020 vote.
The lawyer, who identifies as left-wing, has previously attacked Trump on various instances.
He donated to the campaign of Fani Willis, the woman who brought the charges against the former president and is now prosecuting him.
Findling has represented many rappers in court, including Cardi B
In 2017, he slammed the former president for supporting the death penalty, labelling him “racist, cruel, sick, unforgivable, and un-American.”
The following year, the Atlanta lawyer slated Trump for being “pathetic” and declared him “the racist architect of fraudulent Trump University”, after an argument between the former president and basketball star LeBron James.
Findling was also highly critical of ex-president’s decision to fire the federal prosecutor in Manhattan.
He called it “a sign of FEAR that [the prosecutor] would aggressively investigate the stench hovering” over him.
The veteran lawyer is a respected figure in Atlanta, which he has nicknamed “Hip Hop Hollywood”, where he has represented a number of rappers, including Cardi B.
His ex-clients have called him “the biggest lawyer in the game” and labelled him a “Robin Hood with Jesus swag”.
Findling has defended his decision to represent a client he was previously highly critical of.
"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 told the New York Times last year.
"We have our personal lives and we have our personal politics, and I don't apologise for my personal politics."
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Trump has been accused by the Department of Justice of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election
Reuters
He compared his decision to the second US president John Adams, who in his former career as a lawyer, defended British soldiers against murder charges from the Boston Massacre of 1770.
The “Robin Hood” figure donated $1,440 to Willis’ campaign in July 2020. The successful campaign resulted in an inditement of 41 counts against Trump.
Trump’s legal team has hinted it will rely on a free speech defence to contest the charges.
Findling’s background in defending rappers – whose lyrics are often misinterpreted as evidence of criminal conduct – could aid Trump’s defence of free speech.
The lawyer told the Times: “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."
