Financial TimesFinancial Times

Trump indictment thrusts a divided nation into new chapter of chaos

By Joshua Chaffin

31 Mar 2023 · 5 min read

Editor's Note

Joshua Chaffin, writing in the FT, believes the recent indictment has "managed to jolt a nation seemingly inured to Trump’s chaos." Partisans are divided over whether this is justice or intimidation.

Donald Trump was a norm-shattering American president during four tumultuous years in the White House. Now, with a Manhattan grand jury handing down a criminal indictment against him on Thursday evening, Trump and the US have once again hurtled into uncharted — possibly dangerous — territory.

The news of the grand jury’s vote upended recent speculation that Alvin Bragg, a first-term Manhattan district attorney, might be wobbling in his commitment to a divisive case launched four years ago by his predecessor, Cyrus Vance.

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