Trump Indicted: What You Need To Know

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Good morning,

About 75 million Americans remain under air quality alerts because of the wildfire smoke from Canada. Philadelphia, DC and Baltimore could get the worst of it again today.

Smoke can be seen as far west as Indiana. And in the south, even Florida could see some of the smokey haze. Current forecasts show it will begin to clear for some areas this weekend but it may take until Tuesday to see parts of the northeast get back to normal—depending the jet stream and rain conditions.

Stay safe and have a good weekend,

Mosheh, Jill, & Courtney

🗞 DONALD TRUMP INDICTED, AGAIN

Former President Donald Trump said Thursday night that he’s been charged by the Justice Department in connection with the discovery of hundreds of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home after he left the White House.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING
It is a seismic event in the nation’s political and legal history. The indictment is the first time in American history a former president has faced federal charges.

🚨 Trump broke the news himself on social media last night, noting that his first court hearing will take place in Federal District Court in Miami Tuesday at 3pmET:

WHAT WE KNOW
A 7-count federal indictment was filed in court in Miami, naming the former president as a criminal defendant. The NY Times reports that the counts include conspiracy to obstruct, willful retention of documents and false statements. We are still waiting on the full details from the indictment, but ABC News is reporting the following counts below—which could mean Trump faces the potential for decades in prison, if convicted.

WAIT, TAKE US BACK
Here’s a quick timeline of how this all unfolded:

• January 2021: Trump leaves the White House with hundreds of classified and top secret documents.

• Late 2021/Early 2022: There’s a back and forth after the National Archives requests Trump return missing documents. Some are returned.

• May 2022: The Justice Department subpoenas the remaining classified documents from Mar-a-Lago. Trump attorneys vouch weeks later that everything has been returned.

• August 2022: FBI searches Mar-a-Lago and finds 103 additional classified documents

• November 2022: Attorney General Merrick Garland appoints Special Counsel Jack Smith, saying that Trump’s 2024 presidential run and President Biden’s reelection bid mean there should be another layer of independence for the investigation. A second Special Counsel is assigned to look at a couple dozen classified documents found at Biden’s home & office from his time as VP (more below).

• December 2022: Additional classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.

• March 2023: Trump lawyer Evan Corcoran appears before grand jury, after Smith’s team show that Trump may have deceived attorneys in furtherance of a crime.

AT ISSUE
Investigators have been gathering evidence to determine whether Trump deliberately set out to obstruct law-enforcement efforts to recover the top-secret materials. There have been multiple reports of employees moving around boxes to deceive government officials, including an investigation into what surveillance cameras at the club may have picked up in the last year.

TRUMP’S RESPONSE
Late Thursday night, Trump put out a video on social media calling the indictment “election interference” and a “continuation of the greatest witch hunt of all time.”

POLITICAL FALLOUT

Trump can and will continue his run for president, as there are no provisions in the constitution making you ineligible for the White House —even if you are indicted. He is already fundraising off the indictment, his second criminal case in several months, asking supporters to help him fight this legally.

His supporters are circling the wagons, with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy calling the indictment “unconscionable,” and other GOP lawmakers like Sen. Josh Hawley, Reps. Matt Gaetz and Jim Jordan saying the indictment is not legitimate.

Many supporters are pointing to other classified records issues related to Hillary Clinton’s email server (the FBI cleared her of criminal wrongdoing) as well as the discovery of documents at the homes of Mike Pence and Biden.

Some key differences when it comes to Biden and Pence: Both men had far less documents, they invited the feds in to search their homes and remove all documents, and it appears neither tried to deceive the DOJ. Pence has already been cleared of wrongdoing. A separate special counsel continues to investigate Biden.

2024 presidential opponents are taking different tacks. Some supportive of Trump:

With others taking a more ‘wait and see’ approach:

WHAT’S NEXT?
We’ll know more on Tuesday, when Trump is expected to surrender to authorities in Miami. Timing of a trial will be up to a judge. Attorneys for the former president will likely want this pushed back until after the November 2024 election (when he might be president again and could wield more power over the process) while the US government will want to pursue this sooner.

⏳ SPEED READ

📌 ‘DeSantis Super PAC uses fake AI photos for former president in latest anti-Trump ad (NEWSWEEK)

📌 A surprise decision from the Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of minority voters and the Voting Rights Act. Two conservative judges voting with the three liberal judges (AXIOS)

📌 Supreme Court rules against dog toy resembling liquor bottle. The case, a trademark dispute, pitted Jack Daniel’s against Bad Spaniels Silly Squeakers, which looks like the distiller’s distinctive bottle and adds potty humor (NY TIMES)

📌 California Governor Gavin Newsom wants 28th Amendment added to US Constitution regarding guns (POLITICO)

📌 Ukraine launches counteroffensive against Russia (WASHINGTON POST)

📌 Pat Robertson, broadcaster who helped make religion central to GOP politics, dies at 93 (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

📌 Man killed in shark attack off coast of Egypt (REUTERS)

📌 GM owners will be able to charge their electric cars at Tesla superchargers (AXIOS)

📌 Why Is Everyone Watching TV With the Subtitles On? It’s not just you. (THE ATLANTIC)

📌 Three rescued after an inflatable duck named ‘Quackers’ drifts out to sea off English coast (GUARDIAN)

🎉 CHEERS TO THE FREAKIN’ WEEKEND

Our weekly look at what we are watching, reading and eating every weekend.

• What We’re Watching: Avatar, The Way Of Water on Disney+ (Jill), Jury Duty on Amazon (Mosh)

• What We’re Reading: Fifth Avenue Glamour Girl, by Renee Rosen (Jill) and The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin (Mosh)

• What We’re Eating: Shawarma and the Tel Aviv food scene (Mosh), Moscow Mule (Jill)