How Bad Is It?

A New York City grand jury has indicted former President Donald J. Trump. We don’t yet know the specific charges, but various media outlets are reporting he may face over 30 separate charges connected to the falsification of documents relating to payments Trump made to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election.

Naturally, pundits on the Left and Right see the event somewhat differently. “America’s Banana Republic Era Is Here,” declared The Federalist. Today “is a good day for America,” celebrated The Atlantic, before hastily adding that the indictment was “also an American tragedy.“

We find ourselves wondering — about this event and so many others these days — How bad is it? Is this the beginning of the end of the American experiment? The moment when we become Brazil or the Philippines? A nation that elects, then jails, and then re-elects its heads of state? Or will this moment serve as a wake-up call that things finally went too far, and we can now begin the long process of healing?

One reason to believe the whole thing might blow over relatively quickly is because, a) the alleged crime appears to be a misdemeanor and b) the District Attorney of New York has promised to “not seek a carceral sentence other than for homicide or other cases involving the death of a victim” or other major or violent crimes, of which paying hush money could not possibly be one.

However, notes the Federalist’s Margot Cleveland, D.A. Alvin Bragg could prosecute Trump’s alleged crimes as a felony, or as multiple felonies, by arguing “that Trump caused the Trump Organization to falsely report the payments with the intent of committing tax fraud.”

Nobody knows. Experts, research shows, are no better at predicting the future than anyone else, and sometimes, due to their dogmatism, are much worse at it. The two of us keep thinking that the crime and homelessness crisis in San Francisco couldn’t get any worse and then, incredibly, it does.

Rogan Teaser

A clip of Michael on Rogan talking about the Censorship Industrial Complex went viral within minutes of the show being uploaded.

“It became clear to us over time,” said Michael, “that the U.S. Government had turned its propaganda and disinformation campaigns, that it had been waging abroad, against the American people.”

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