Trump Indicted

Donald Trump is indicted in New York

The news is Donald Trump has been indicted in New York, and that’s my newsletter for you below…

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Donald Trump has been indicted

Donald Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in New York — news that broke like an explosion late Thursday.

Trump has clashed with many prosecutors and investigators, but now he faces his first experience with real accountability. Charges. A booking. Fingerprinting. A trial. Everything changes now.

Donald Trump Indicted, March 30, 2023

Surrender

The indictment of Trump is a day many have wanted, and that many thought would never come.

It reinforces the rule of law to see that Trump’s “status” as a former President does not put him above the law. Today, we now have a precedent that a former President can indeed be indicted. No future investigation or prosecutor will have to “wrestle” with “creating that precedent,” because now it is established.

This news broke late Thursday afternoon. I got a call about it before the first story “crossed the wire,” as colleagues went through our sourcing and standards processes for reporting something of this magnitude — before there is public confirmation (the D.A. had not announced it and the indictment itself is not public when under seal). Within an hour of the news breaking, however, it was clear there’s no debate here.

Trump’s lawyers confirmed it. The D.A.’s office then confirmed their discussions with Trump’s team - without revealing any still-sealed details of the indictment - noting they have begun discussing Trump’s “surrender” for arraignment.

A view from the other side of breaking news

We won’t know the full theory of the case until the indictment is unsealed. Typically that occurs on the day of the arraignment. And like any defendant, Trump is presumed innocent as a matter of law.

We do know that this time, there are no loopholes for Trump. He is not a President who can oversee the DOJ conducting an investigation and is protected from federal indictment (while in office). There is no federal pardon to halt the case, because it would not apply to these charges (so no future President could help Trump here). So Trump enters this arena with less leverage, and his (sometimes effective) skills in publicity and politics won’t apply to a judge and jury.

This is a whole different challenge, and if he doesn’t know that yet, he is about to find out.

P.S. You can find our latest coverage of this case and new videos at our YouTube page, updated daily: msnbc.com/ari …

here’s a report on Trump’s attacks on the D.A. and why they may backfire.