The Unavoidable Case of Donald J. Trump
The case of Donald J. Trump is unique in that the defendant could become the president of the United States before the case has finished. If this were to happen, Trump would likely order the Justice Department to drop the case, which raises the question of whether or not he would succeed.
David Leonhardt
Senior writer, New York Times. You can sign up for The Morning, the daily newsletter I write, here: https://t.co/xfI71sRv94
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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.
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) June 10, 2023
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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.
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) June 10, 2023 -
For that reason, this case is both legal and unavoidably political. The prosecutors’ audience is not only the judges and jurors in the legal proceedings. It’s also the American public, who will decide whether Trump ultimately has the power to overrule a verdict.
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) June 10, 2023 -
“Ideally, you’d have this decided in a court of law based on the facts,” says @NoahBookbinder “But making a public case is part of what’s going on here.”
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) June 10, 2023 -
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.
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) June 10, 2023 -
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.
— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) June 10, 2023