We’ve given our everything to capturing the spectacle and the legal intricacies of today’s events. The big thing is that we’ve now gotten to see the indictment. We know what Trump’s facing. But don’t forget that there are two big elections tonight. The Chicago mayoral run off is a big one. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court election is not only big for Wisconsin — it has major, major national implications as well. There’s no denying that the latter is the most consequential election of 2023. And we’re going to know the results tonight. As I’ve mentioned before, the people who I follow to get the minute to minute results on election nights are the folks on this curated Twitter list.
In other news, our friend Rick Hasen thinks the Bragg case is weak, relies too much on novel legal theories that could get bogged down in appeals for years or even tossed for legal insufficiency. I have no ability to evaluate the legal arguments at this level. But it’s significant to me that Rick sees the case’s merits in these terms. My own expectation is that the whole question will become moot, as a public if not a legal matter, with other indictments. But we shall see.
Late Update: Here’s a contrary take on the case and New York state law from JustSecurity.
The indictment itself is dry and minimalistic; the accompanying statement of facts has some new detail and captures the sordid nature of Trump himself and the entire scheme to protect him from negative stories about his sex life during the 2016 campaign. Read them both here.
There’s one thing to remember here. Trump blazed a path of almost nonstop criminal conduct over seven years. He’s finally being charged with one crime. More serious charges are likely to follow. It’s pretty straightforward really. Crimes often lead to indictments. It’s not as sure as night following day. But it’s a pretty established pattern.
If you haven’t yet, check out our live blog of the day’s events, with TPM on the scene outside the courthouse doing interviews and absorbing the moment while the rest of the team provides running updates on every development. I found this very low-key interview with 62-year-old Trump supporter, Al, who came from outside Philly to be very interesting.
On a different front entirely, I noticed a statement sent out by email from CPAC denouncing the indictment of the former president. No surprise there. But down at the bottom it’s signed by Matt Schlapp, who has somehow managed to hang on as president of the group, and by CPAC’s general counsel, David Safavinian. Yes, the same guy who was sentenced to prison in the Abramoff scandal. Small world. I guess he managed to get his law license reinstated after prison. I didn’t realize it was that easy. But good for him for getting rehabilitated. I’m a lover not a fighter.
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