Donald Trump scored a major win and now his high-powered attorney, Steve Sadow, is declaring total victory after Georgia prosecutors officially dropped the historic racketeering case against the president and his co-defendants on Wednesday.
The dismissal marks a stunning conclusion to a case that began with Trump’s infamous phone call pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Now, with prosecutor Peter Skandalakis pulling the plug on the entire operation, Sadow is making it clear this case should never have existed in the first place.
“The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over,” Sadow declared in his victory statement. “This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare.”
Sadow’s celebration comes after years of legal warfare that saw Donald Trump become the first former president to surrender at an Atlanta jail and pose for a mugshot.
The case used Georgia’s RICO statute – the same law typically reserved for taking down organized crime syndicates and drug cartels – to target Trump and 18 co-defendants for allegedly forming a “criminal enterprise” to overturn the 2020 election results.
But Sadow isn’t just any ordinary defense attorney.
The legal powerhouse has built his reputation representing some of Hip-Hop’s biggest names, most notably Gunna in the YSL RICO trial that captivated the rap world for over two years.
That case, which also ensnared Young Thug, became the longest criminal trial in Georgia’s history before finally reaching a resolution in 2024. The YSL trial showcased Sadow’s aggressive defense tactics and deep understanding of RICO prosecutions.
He successfully negotiated Gunna’s release through an Alford plea deal in December 2022, allowing the rapper to maintain his innocence while acknowledging prosecutors had enough evidence for a conviction.
The move sparked controversy in Hip-Hop circles, with some labeling Gunna a “snitch,” allegations Sadow has repeatedly and forcefully denied.
“Gunna did NOT cooperate, and did NOTHING and said NOTHING to cause harm to Thug’s case,” Sadow wrote on social media earlier this year, defending his former client against persistent rumors. “He spent 8 months in jail and was released in Dec. 2022 after entering an Alford plea. Gunna’s plea could not and was not used at Thug’s trial and he was never even named as a witness.”
The parallels between the YSL case and Trump’s Georgia prosecution are striking.
Both involved RICO charges, both featured Fani Willis as the original prosecutor, and both ultimately ended with Willis being removed from the cases due to ethical violations stemming from her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Willis’s downfall began when Donald Trump’s defense attorneys exposed her relationship with Wade, arguing she financially benefited from the arrangement through lavish vacations Wade allegedly funded.
The scandal derailed both high-profile cases and ultimately led to Willis’s disqualification by a Georgia appeals court in December 2024.
For the Hip-Hop community, Willis’s handling of the YSL case was particularly controversial. The prosecution targeted rap lyrics as evidence of criminal activity, raising concerns about artistic expression and the criminalization of Hip-Hop culture.
Many felt the case’s resolution was underwhelming given its historic length and the resources devoted to it.
Young Thug also eventually accepted a plea deal in October 2024 after spending over two years in jail, receiving 15 years of probation with strict conditions that prevent him from living in Atlanta.
Meanwhile, Gunna walked away with no probation, no travel restrictions, and the freedom to continue his international music career.
Now, with Trump’s case officially dead, Sadow can add another major RICO victory to his resume. The dismissal represents a complete vindication for Donald Trump, who consistently maintained his innocence while facing potential decades in prison if convicted on all charges.
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