Trump’s Indictment Is Unavoidably Political

The public filings in most legal cases are of secondary importance. What happens in the courtroom matters far more. But the United States of America v. Donald J. Trump is obviously not a typical case.

Perhaps its most unusual aspect is the reality that the defendant could become the president of the United States before the case has finished. Were that to happen, the defendant-cum-president would probably order the Justice Department to drop the case. And he might succeed.

For that reason, this case is both legal and unavoidably political. The prosecutors’ audience is not only the judges and jurors who will be involved in the legal proceedings. It is also the American public, who will decide whether Trump ultimately has the power to overrule a verdict. (In almost any scenario, the appeal process would not be complete before the next presidential term begins.)

“Ideally, you’d have this decided in a court of law based on the facts,” Noah Bookbinder, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and a former corruption prosecutor, told me. “But making a public case is part of what’s going on here.”

A central goal of the indictment unsealed yesterday was to make clear that Trump’s behavior was fundamentally different from that of other politicians who have mishandled classified information, including President Biden, Mike Pence, Hillary Clinton and David Petraeus. (My colleagues Alan Feuer and Maggie Haberman, who have been covering the case, write that the main lesson of the indictment is that Trump’s handling of classified documents was even worse than people imagined.)

Prosecutors say that Trump knowingly removed classified information from the White House; that the information was sensitive, including some relating to the country’s military vulnerabilities; that Trump left the documents in public places where others might have seen them; and that when asked to return the documents, he lied to federal investigators and tried to obstruct an investigation. Trump says he is innocent and the case is a witch hunt intended to prevent him from returning to the presidency.

This battle for public opinion is not a sideshow. It may ultimately be as important to Trump’s future as anything that happens in front of a judge.

In the rest of today’s newsletter, we walk you through the details of the indictment and The Times’s coverage of the case.

The basics

The details that emerged yesterday came from an indictment that the Justice Department unsealed. The government charged Trump with 37 criminal counts in total; 31 relate to sensitive documents that he kept and the remaining six to obstructing the investigation.

“We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone,” Jack Smith, the special counsel hired by the Justice Department to lead the investigation, said yesterday. You can read the indictment, with annotations from Times reporters, or you can read a shorter list of key points.

Walt Nauta, a Trump aide, was also charged. If this case follows the patterns of others, prosecutors may later offer Nauta leniency in exchange for cooperating in the case against Trump, the more senior figure.

Already, other Trump employees appear to be helping the investigation. The indictment relies in part on their text messages, as well as notes taken by a lawyer for Trump and an audio tape of a meeting. “It is going to enrage Trump when he sees just how much of his own staff and advisers cooperated with this investigation,” Maggie Haberman said.

The alleged crime

Among the accusations from prosecutors:

• After leaving the White House in January 2021, Trump kept documents relating to U.S. nuclear programs; the country’s potential vulnerabilities to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to an attack.

• Trump shared a highly sensitive “plan of attack” against Iran with visitors at his golf club in Bedminster, N.J. He was recorded on tape describing the material as “highly confidential” and “secret,” and acknowledging it had not been declassified.

• He shared a top secret military map with a staffer at his political action committee who did not have a security clearance.

• Trump stored boxes containing classified documents throughout Mar-a-Lago, including in a ballroom, a bathroom and a shower, as well as in an office and his bedroom. The storage was often sloppy, and the documents were in semi-public places.

CULTURE CALENDAR

📚 “Lucky Dogs” (Out Now): Inspired by the story of Harvey Weinstein — specifically the tale of the actress Rose McGowan and the private security firm agent who befriended and then betrayed her — Helen Schulman’s novel is, as the Times critic Alexandra Jacobs wrote, “deeply knowing, properly indignant and … very funny.”

📺 “Black Mirror” (Thursday): It’s been four years since the last season of this dark sci-fi anthology series premiered on Netflix. And in that time, nothing at all dystopian or technologically troubling has occurred, so is this show even relevant anymore? (Kidding! It’s scary out there, kids.) This season — which stars Salma Hayek, Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett, Zazie Beetz and Annie Murphy from “Schitt’s Creek” — runs five episodes.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

Rainbow Sprinkle Cake

June is Pride month, and, if baking is on your agenda, this festive Funfetti rainbow sprinkle cake makes an especially sweet statement. It’s a tender-crumbed yellow layer cake with sprinkles both in the batter and on top of the vanilla cream cheese frosting. Although you can buy premixed rainbow sprinkles, Julia Moskin, who adapted the cake from Candace Nelson, suggests creating your own mix (something kids especially love to do). Julia also has a warning: Although you may be tempted, don’t use sprinkles with natural coloring. They lose their brightness in the oven, leaving drab streaks instead of bright rainbow speckles. Which is, after all, the point.

REAL ESTATE

The hunt: Newlyweds with six grown children wanted to find a Manhattan apartment big enough for family dinners. Which home did they choose? Play our game.

New York market: The apartment looked as if it had never been cleaned. They took it anyway.

LIVING

Aggressive blading: A flashy, niche style of skating is back.

Cheap hotels: A new website helps travelers book rooms when they’re cheapest.

“Nature’s Ozempic”: Berberine is being hyped as a natural weight loss drug, but its effectiveness remains murky.

ADVICE FROM WIRECUTTER

Gifts for dads

It doesn’t take much time or money to coax a smile out of even the most stoic dads on Father’s Day, which is next weekend. Wirecutter experts have gift recommendations as affordable as 13 bucks — and many with two-day shipping. Handy types might love a sleek Japanese toolbox with hinges that slide like butter. Analogue dads will delight in the richness of a luxury pencil. Or give him the ultimate crowd-pleaser: a cloudlike nap hammock. The real dad magic happens at the intersection of pragmatic, sentimental and fun. — Jen Hunter

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Florida Panthers, Stanley Cup: The Panthers were lost in the N.H.L. wilderness: After reaching the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals, they went 25 seasons without winning another playoff series. But this season they have found their way again, with a playoff run that included an upset of the historically great Bruins. Now they’re facing Vegas, a team that has been around for only five seasons — but is appearing in its second Stanley Cup Finals. The Golden Knights lead the series, 2-1. 8 p.m. Eastern on TNT.

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