The lede from The New York Times story reads
"A Manhattan grand jury indicted Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges."
The specific charges aren’t yet known, just that they relate to “hush money” paid to Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Donald Trump.
The Washington Post reports Republican leaders are rallying around Trump, calling the indictment politically motivated. Mike Pence, the former vice president, said on CNN,
“I think the unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage. This will only further serve to divide our country.”
Pence is right, this will further divide the country. But it would in either case, as many would like to see Donald Trump indicted.
On his outrage, how can anyone conclude it’s an outrage if we don’t yet know the specific charges?
Are Republicans arguing a hush money payment disguised as legal fees isn’t serious enough to warrant indicting a former president? That is certainly consistent with dismissing the impropriety of Trump’s call to Ukraine’s president and his role in the attempted insurrection on January 6. If neither warranted convicting the impeached president, why prosecute a candidate for hiding a modest $130,000 payment?
Unfortunately, the Republican rationale reinforces the unfortunate reality that the application of the law seems inversely proportional to the financial wealth and stature of the defendant.
As this indictment comes from a grand jury through a district attorney — a district attorney whose career will be torpedoed for flimsy charges that a jury would quickly dismiss, there’s probably something there.
So quiet on the set. Let’s await the specifics and let the legal process play out.
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