Former President Donald Trump has recently hired a new lawyer named Steve Sadow. This move comes as Trump is facing indictments in three states, as well as Washington, DC. The choice of attorney is notable because Sadow recently defended Gunna, an Atlanta rap star who was facing racketeering charges alongside the hip-hop crew Young Slime Life (YSL). Gunna’s case concluded last December with an “Alford plea,” in which he maintained his innocence but accepted a guilty verdict and community service. The cases against other YSL members, including Young Thug, are still ongoing. All of these cases involve allegations that YSL is not just a rap group but a criminal organization.
Trump’s most recent indictment in Georgia, for which he hired Sadow, also alleges that he was part of a criminal organization. Like Gunna and the other individuals indicted in the YSL case, Trump and his 18 codefendants, which include his former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, are being charged under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. They have all pleaded not guilty. Both the Trump and YSL cases are expected to be lengthy and complex affairs, involving multiple motions, lawyer wrangling, and the use of social media as evidence.
The use of RICO by prosecutors makes their job easier, as they don’t necessarily need to prove that a defendant committed a criminal act themselves. Instead, they only need to show that the defendant associated with criminals who did. Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis, who is overseeing both the YSL and Trump cases, has stated that she is a fan of RICO because it allows prosecutors to tell the whole story. In Trump’s case, this story is laid out in a 98-page indictment with 40 non-racketeering charges and one significant RICO charge that ties them all together.
Within the extensive racketeering charge, the prosecution alleges that Trump and his cohort knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the 2020 election. Like the RICO case against YSL, some of the acts listed as evidence involve the use of social media. YSL members are accused of appearing in Instagram posts making particular hand signs, while Trump is accused of tweeting claims such as “People in Georgia got caught cold bringing in massive numbers of ballots and putting them in voting machines.” The outcomes of both cases will serve as high-profile examples of whether or not these tactics using social media as evidence are effective in building RICO cases.
When people hear “RICO,” they often think of organized crime, as the original federal racketeering act passed in 1970 was intended to target such criminal organizations. However, Georgia’s version of RICO is described as “much more loosey-goosey.” For example, nearly a decade ago, prosecutors in Cherokee County, Georgia, filed RICO charges against three court reporters who had allegedly changed the margins on their transcripts, resulting in overcharges. Currently, Georgia’s attorney general, Chris Carr, is pursuing a RICO prosecution against 61 activists who protested the construction of a police training facility outside Atlanta, commonly referred to as “Cop City.”
In conclusion, the hiring of Steve Sadow as Donald Trump’s lawyer in the face of multiple indictments is not surprising considering his legal situation. However, the notable aspect is that Sadow recently defended Gunna, an Atlanta rap star facing racketeering charges in a case involving allegations of a criminal organization. Trump’s indictment in Georgia accuses him of being part of a criminal organization, similar to the YSL case. The use of RICO by prosecutors enables them to focus on associations with criminals rather than proving direct criminal acts. Both cases involve the use of social media as evidence and will be closely watched as tests of the effectiveness of such tactics. Georgia’s version of RICO has been described as more flexible, with previous cases involving non-violent offenses such as changing transcript margins and protesting. With these developments, the Trump and YSL cases are expected to be complex and lengthy affairs with significant implications.
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