Donald Trump’s celebrity lawyer once blasted him as “racist”, “sick” and “pathetic”.
Donald Trump’s celebrity lawyer once blasted him as ‘racist’, ‘sick’ and ‘pathetic’
The former ‘Apprentice’ judge, 77, has hired powerhouse attorney Drew Findling, 65, to represent him in the criminal investigation into his alleged interference in the state of Georgia in the 2020 election.
But Variety has reported how he has previously slammed Trump and donated to Fani Willis, the woman now prosecuting the scandal-hit former US president.
The self-professed liberal attacked Trump on Twitter in 2017 over the then-president’s stance on the Central Park Five, a group of teenagers wrongfully convicted in the rape of a white jogger at Central Park, New York, in 1989.
Trump had backed the death penalty and did not retract his comments after the verdicts were overturned – which Mr Findling blasted was “racist, cruel, sick, unforgivable, and un-American”.
A year later, the lawyer to the stars weighed in on a feud between Trump and basketball star LeBron James, using a social media post to call the former president “pathetic” and the “racist architect of fraudulent Trump University”.
When he was asked why he is now defending the ex-president following his criticism, Mr Findling likened his decision to John Adams – the second US president who, in his earlier career as a lawyer, had defied anti-British sentiments and defended British soldiers against murder charges linked to the Boston Massacre of 1770.
He told The New York Times: “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.
“We have our personal lives and we have our personal politics, and I don't apologise for my personal politics.”
As well as repeatedly attacking Trump. Mr Findling donated $1,440 (£1,130) in July 2020 to Democrat Fani Willis’ successful bid for the top prosecutor post in Georgia’s most populous county.
As Fulton County district attorney, Ms Willis indicted Trump and 18 associates over their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, won by Joe Biden on his way to the White House.
The charges against Trump 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 – which he has denied and claimed are a result of him being “persecuted”.
Mr Findling’s celebrity clients have included Cardi B, Offset, and YoungBoy, gaining him the moniker ‘Billion Dollar Lawyer’.
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