The best lawyers hired by those linked to the Georgia election investigation

ATLANTA (AP) — In the state investigation prompted by then-President Donald Trump’s call to Georgia’s top election official, people who have been called to testify — or could be — about possible interference in the 2020 presidential race are turning to high-profile people. lawyers

It was trump conversation with the secretary of state brad raffensperger on January 2, 2021, that was the catalyst for the state investigation, and now Trump has hired Drew Findlingone of Atlanta’s most prominent criminal defense attorneys, perhaps best known for representing rap stars.

US Senator Lindsey Graham, R.C., has brought in former Trump White House lawyer Don McGahn, who I was in federal court in Atlanta last week as part of a legal team fighting a citation for Graham.

No one has been charged with a crime in the investigation and both Trump and Graham have denied wrongdoing, but the moves come at a particularly precarious legal time for Trump.

fbi agents conducted an unprecedented search of his estate in Florida on Monday in an unrelated investigation into whether Trump removed sensitive White House information. He too invoked its Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination Wednesday when he testified under oath in the New York attorney general’s lengthy civil investigation into his business dealings.

But lawyers hired in Atlanta suggest Trump and his allies are paying particular attention to the investigation led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

“You’re not going to go and hire an expensive lawyer unless you want to send a message that says, ‘They better be right or my fancy lawyer will blow your mind,’ or if they’re really worried,” he said. Caren Morrison, Georgia State University law professor and former federal prosecutor.

However, legal experts caution that hires alone do not suggest someone is the subject or target of an investigation.

“I don’t think that’s an indication that someone is about to be charged or that these people are necessarily worried they’re going to jail. It’s just what a smart person would do,” said Page Pate, an Atlanta defense attorney who is not involved in the case.

Willis began the investigation early last year. A special grand jury with citation power was sitting in may at her request and began hearing witnesses in June. Although the panel’s proceedings are secret, related public court filings have given a glimpse of where the investigation could be headed.

Willis last month filed paperwork seeking to compel testimony of seven Trump advisers and associates, including Graham and former New York City Mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. Graham is awaiting a federal judge’s ruling on his subpoena challenge, while Giuliani has been instructed to appear before the special grand jury on Wednesday.

Willis has confirmed early on that she is interested in the January 2021 phone call between Trump and Raffensperger, which came four days before Congressional certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s White House victory that was interrupted by riots. at the US Capitol. During that conversation, Trump suggested the secretary of state could “find” the votes needed to overturn his narrow defeat in the state.

Recent court documents have made clear that Willis is also interested in other calls made by Trump and his associates to officials in Georgia, false statements about the election made during Georgia legislative committee hearings, and the filing of a bogus republican electors list to Congress and the National Archives. In various filings, he specifically alleged that there was “a coordinated multi-state plan by the Trump campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.”

Willis has said that she is considering quoting trumpa step that would surely start a legal battle.

Trump has hired Findling and former prosecutor Jennifer Little, with attorney Dwight Thomas as a consultant on matters related to special grand jury procedures.

Much has been made of Findling’s previous social media posts suggesting he is not a fan of the former president, whom he called “racist” and “pathetic” in an August 2018 tweet.

Andrew Fleischman, an appellate attorney in Atlanta who is not connected to the case, said being a defense attorney “doesn’t necessarily mean believing your client is innocent or sympathetic, but it does mean looking closely at the law and making sure the state has ticked all the boxes.”

“We defend the process,” Fleischman said. “And if they are convicting the president, you want the process to be almost seamless.”

Findling is a highly respected and media-savvy attorney. That second point is crucial when there is so much attention on a case and it can present challenges with a client like Trump, who is so used to speaking for himself without a filter, Pate said.

“You want to respect the fact that (the client) needs to make statements to the media in many cases, but at the same time, you don’t want to jeopardize your case,” he said.

Perhaps the most important reason to have an attorney at this stage of the investigation is to have a channel of communication with prosecutors, Pate said.

“They have a way of getting you to admit to something that you think may be completely harmless, which actually fills out a part of their case,” he said of the prosecutors. “So you don’t want to be on a call or in a meeting with the government when your statements could be used against you.”

An attorney can also negotiate dates for an eventual appearance if a subpoena is issued and review the documents that may be requested before serving them. And an attorney can contact other witnesses who appeared before the special grand jury to see if they are willing to talk about what they were asked.

Steven Frey has worked with Findling on several cases, including the successful defense of a sheriff who faced 27 felony charges in an indictment that accused him of using his position for personal gain. He called Findling “one of the best attorneys I have ever dealt with.”

McGahn also gets high praise. When he left that post in 2018, Then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “I have met every White House lawyer since I came to Washington. Even in such an impressive company, Don is above all else.”

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