Former President Donald Trump’s team has been consulting a high-profile local lawyer to help navigate the Fulton County criminal investigation into some of his associates’ actions in the 2020 election.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis confirmed that her team has interacted with Trump’s new hire, Dwight Thomas, but declined to elaborate further in an interview with Yahoo News. Thomas is one of the most high-profile lawyers in the region and has nearly four decades of experience in the legal arena.
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“If you hired Dwight Thomas, you are absolutely serious,” former prosecutor Clinton Rucker told CBS. “You absolutely believe that you have some exposure and you want to make sure that you have somebody that is skilled enough to not only examine the issues, but you want somebody who ultimately can go in and fight and win.”
Throughout his career, Thomas has taken up myriad sensitive and fraught cases, having previously represented rapper T.I. in a weapons case and former congressional hopeful Vernon Jones on several occasions, the outlet reported. Jones was a Democratic politician at the time he consulted Thomas, but he has since flipped parties and mounted unsuccessful bids for Congress and Georgia governor.
Thomas has a history of donating to Democrats, including Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in 2021, according to campaign finance records. Still, he “checks any partisan views at the courthouse door,” Georgia attorney Jason Sheffield told the outlet.
Thomas, 71, has mentored a lengthy list of lawyers, including prosecutors who are currently working for Fulton County. He also has extensive experience in dealing with special grand juries, Rucker said.
“He will catch you on technicalities in the law, and he’ll do it with a smile. And when it’s all over, he’ll say, ‘Hey, let me take you to lunch,'” Rucker added.
Willis’s investigation is circling closer to Trump, with the district attorney leaving the door open to calling Trump before investigators to testify.
“I think it’s something that we’re still weighing and evaluating,” she said.
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Willis began her investigation last year after reports surfaced that Trump had a call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he underscored the need to “find” 11,780 votes to tip Georgia in his favor. A special grand jury was impaneled to assist with the inquiry in May and issue subpoenas. Willis has been investigating whether any crimes were committed by Trump or his allies in their quest to challenge the 2020 election. Trump has dismissed allegations of wrongdoing and touted the call with Raffensperger as “perfect.”
The Fulton County inquiry has procured testimony from several key witnesses, such as Raffensperger and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. The grand jury has also subpoenaed Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and several other key Trump allies for testimony.
