Indictment

A process begins

A lifetime of taunting fate. And the law. 

Of dodging accountability. 

Of breaking the rules. 

Of bombast and cynicism, outrage and false victimhood, laziness and lies. 

News tonight that Donald Trump will face multiple charges for allegedly absconding with, mishandling, and obstructing the return of classified documents marks a signal moment in American history. It is not unexpected. The tempo and conjecture have been building.

No former president has faced such serious legal jeopardy. And this is especially true when you consider Trump could very well be indicted around his actions to overturn the 2020 election and his role in a violent insurrection. 

Nixon’s flagrant crimes are only an imperfect yardstick by which to measure the full scale of what the previous president faces, in this case and others. Allegations of cover ups and crimes, on multiple fronts and in a variety of jurisdictions, all seemingly perpetrated with braggadocio by an unrepentant bully.

Our legal system affords Trump a presumption of innocence. It is vital this is maintained. For decades he has mocked legal due process. It is essential that, whatever his fate, it is unimpeachable and consistent with the letter of the law. Surely he will rile up his base with diatribes about being targeted, even as he is afforded protections and deference far, far beyond what most defendants receive.

In the end, it will be up to Special Counsel Jack Smith to make his case, in Florida no less, in front of a jury of Trump’s peers. A guilty verdict is by no means guaranteed. Nevertheless, there is every indication that Smith’s mission will be strengthened by being the antithesis of the man he now will prosecute — deliberate rather than reckless, serious and not flippant, prepared as opposed to rash. 

The law can dominate news cycles. But it is not dictated by them. Trump will try to make the proceedings into a circus, but he is not the ringleader. He will face forces beyond his ability to control. That may well terrify him. 

His road to the presidency was built upon his perverse genius as a showman. But the insults and dominance he wielded on Twitter and in town halls will be of no help in court. Here his instincts might hurt him.

Has the full plight he faces begun to dawn on him? The tenor of his all-caps rants suggests it has. After dragging this country into dangerous and uncharted waters, Trump might find himself unable to escape the shoals of justice.