The moment which has, for the last four years, seemed impossible has finally come. A New York grand jury has officially indicted former President Donald J. Trump. The charges, which are not publicly available, likely relate to payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
The charges revealed on Thursday demonstrate that Trump is not above the law despite years of avoiding responsibility for his misconduct, and it seems Trump will surrender to prosecutors on Tuesday, per The Chicago Tribune.
The historic nature of a former president being indicted, much less arrested, has inevitably provoked responses from across the political spectrum. Trump responded by accusing the DA, Alvin Bragg, of engaging in a politically motivated prosecution.
Though it remains unclear if a jury would convict him, supporters of the former president have lambasted the indictment. Catrina Petersen, a far-right radio host based out of Bloomington-Normal, went so far as to characterize it as “election interference.”
Fox News hosts audibly gasped when they learned that they were heard that Trump was indicted. Former Vice President Mike Pence called the arrest “an outrage” and “unprecedented.” Tucker Carlson went further arguing “The rule of law appears to be suspended tonight — not just for Trump, but for anyone who would consider voting for him…”
Of course, the reality is much more complicated. Bragg’s investigation into hush money payments was part of an ongoing, independent investigation into Trump’s own actions. Actions that allegedly include the falsification of business records to hide campaign contributions involving Stormy Daniels.
Seeing as a grand jury was able to not only examine the evidence of the alleged wrongdoing but was almost certainly aware of the significance of indicting a former president, it is highly unlikely that the evidence against Trump is light.
While it may be difficult to get a conviction, the fact that he was indicted in the first place demonstrates the gravity of Trump’s alleged crimes, especially when he could face up to 30 charges related to fraud. Trump may not be convicted, but at the very least, he will know what it is like to be treated like the crook he is.