Our writers look at what we know so far about the charges.
 | By Vanessa Mobley Op-Ed Editor |
While the indictment of Donald Trump on federal charges remains sealed, the outlines of the government's case against the potential Republican presidential nominee and former president are becoming clearer. |
Still, until Trump appears in a Miami courthouse on Tuesday, as he is expected to do, there are more questions than answers about motive, the substance of the documents Trump is being charged with retaining and the implications of the former president's indictment for the 2024 election. |
The political implications of the special counsel Jack Smith's investigation are explored by my colleague David French, looking back at James Comey's decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton. |
"The critical question for the political legitimacy — and not just legal sufficiency — of the indictment is whether there is evidence of intentionality or obstruction in the Trump case that was absent in Clinton's," David writes. |
In a guest essay, Damon Linker considers the potential for another indictment to galvanize Trump's supporters. "The more concerted opposition Mr. Trump has faced from law enforcement, the mainstream media, Congress and other prominent people in our country and culture, the more popular he has become within his party." |
In another guest essay, Norman Eisen, Andrew Weissmann and Joyce Vance examine the charges, as they are now known, and map the road ahead for Trump as a defendant, for federal prosecutors and for the American people. The former special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, senior prosecutor in Robert Mueller's special counsel investigation and professor at the University of Alabama School of Law collectively offer a sense of the scale of what Jack Smith faces. |
"It is impossible to overstate how essential it will be for Mr. Smith to overcome these hurdles and persuade the trial jury and the American people that whether they like the former president or not, whether they voted for him in the past or intend to vote for him again, he committed serious criminal acts." |
Read our coverage of the indictment here: |
Here's what we're focusing on today: |
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