What we know … — Erica scoops: “The Manhattan district attorney’s office asked for Donald Trump to surrender on Friday following a grand jury’s vote to indict the former president. But lawyers for Trump rebuffed the request saying that the Secret Service, which provides security detail for the former president, needed more time to prepare. The exchange, which was relayed to POLITICO by a law-enforcement source and confirmed by JOE TACOPINA, a lawyer for the former president, underscores the extremely delicate, unprecedented nature of the indictment.” — CNN reports that the indictment includes more than 30 counts. (The counts can add up quickly. For instance, every one of the 11 checks Trump wrote to his former lawyer MICHAEL COHEN to allegedly reimburse him for the hush money payment to STORMY DANIELS could be a separate count.) — Trump will likely be arraigned in Manhattan on Tuesday, despite Gov. RON DeSANTIS’ offer to harbor him in Florida. — Security in NYC will be tight. “After the indictment was filed Thursday, the New York Police Department issued an order to all officers directing them to be ‘prepared for deployment’ in uniform, according to a copy of the internal notification,” reports the NYT. — Erica, Meridith and Kelly Garrity: “Dozens of court and police officers swarmed lower Manhattan after the indictment was announced. A chopper hovered overhead. Outside the courthouse, a handful of pro-indictment protesters praised the grand jury’s decision. Bragg left the courthouse just after 7 p.m., ducking into his car without taking questions from reporters. Police officers surrounded his black SUV. A group of about 10 protesters in favor of the indictment draped a 25-foot banner outside the courthouse that read ‘Trump lies all the time.’” The reaction at Mar-a-Lago … — NYT: “Mr. Trump and his aides were caught off guard by the timing, believing that any action by the grand jury was still weeks away and might not occur at all …. “On Thursday evening, after the grand jury indicted him, Mr. Trump was angry but mainly focused on the political implications of the charges, not the legal consequences, according to people familiar with his thinking. He seemed eager to project confidence and calm, and was seen having a very public dinner with his wife, MELANIA, and her parents at the club at Mar-a-Lago.” — Alex Isenstadt and Meridith McGraw: “For most people, getting indicted is a setback. From Donald Trump’s team, it’s viewed as an opportunity. Aides to the former president moved aggressively on Thursday to capitalize politically on news that a Manhattan grand jury had charged Trump — using it to fill their fundraising coffers, mobilize loyalists and further solidify his hold on his base of supporters in the GOP presidential primary. … “Operatives close to the campaign noted that [the news] came just ahead of Friday’s end–of-first-quarter fundraising deadline, allowing Trump to increase his totals that would be revealed in a report to be filed next month.” NB: DonaldJTrump.com now just redirects to his WinRed donation page, and this T-shirt seems to be a hot item. — The mood, via WaPo: “One adviser described [Trump] as ‘irritated’ and ‘deflated.’ Sen. LINDSEY O. GRAHAM (R-S.C.) said in an interview that he spoke with Trump on Thursday evening for a few minutes and that the former president was ‘upset and disappointed’ but also ‘very calm.’ … One adviser said that while Trump would prefer not to be indicted, the former president planned to ‘milk it for all it’s worth politically,’ using the criminal charges to rally Republicans around him and his 2024 campaign, portray himself as a victim and fundraise.” Oops: “Some Trump aides — including adviser BORIS EPSHTEYN, who is taking a leading role on Trump’s legal team — had even begun telling the former president that he would not be indicted at all, people familiar with the comments said.” Trump and his potential 2024 opponents react … — Trump: “These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED [sic] the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President. THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!” — DeSantis: “The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American. The [GEORGE] SOROS-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent.” — Former VP MIKE PENCE, during a previously scheduled interview on CNN: “The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage.” — Former UN Ambassador NIKKI HALEY tweeted a previous appearance on Fox News: “This is more about revenge than it is about justice.” — Sen. TIM SCOTT (R-S.C.): “This pro-criminal New York DA has failed to uphold the law for violent criminals, yet weaponized the law against political enemies. This is a travesty and it should not be happening in the greatest country on Earth.” — Former Arkansas Gov. ASA HUTCHINSON: “We need to wait on the facts and for our American system of justice to work like it does for thousands of Americans every day. Finally, it is essential that the decision on America’s next President be made at the ballot box and not in the court system. Donald Trump should not be the next President, but that should be decided by the voters.” — VIVEK RAMASWAMY: “It is un-American for the ruling party to use police power to arrest its political rivals.” The White House (non)-reaction… — Jonathan Lemire: “In a series of discussions, senior White House aides have debated how to respond to a possible charge. The answer never changed: say nothing. Avoid being accused of trying to influence a criminal justice matter. And why get in the way if an opponent might be self-destructing? “Shortly after the news broke Thursday, the White House said it would not be commenting.” Some notable GOP reaction from the Hill… — Sen. JOHN BARRASSO (R-Wyo.), GOP conference chair and the highest-ranking Senate Republican to chime in: “If it was anyone other than President Trump, a case like this never would be brought. Instead of ordering political hit jobs, New York prosecutors should focus on getting violent criminals off the streets.” (h/t The Hill’s Al Weaver) — NRSC Chair Sen. STEVE DAINES (R-Mont.): “Let’s call this what it is: a political prosecution from a rogue DA who campaigned on indicting @RealDonaldTrump. The American people will see through this prosecutorial misconduct.” — Sen. TED CRUZ (R-Texas): "The indictment of Trump is a moment in the death of the rule of law." — House Speaker KEVIN McCARTHY: “The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account.” — Rep. JOHN RUTHERFORD (R-Fla.): "As a life long law enforcement officer, I’ll wait to hear Bragg’s evidence for the indictment of a former president — it damn well better be good." — Rep. CLAY HIGGINS (R-La.): “The anti-American left is going to fuck around and find out.” — More from Kyle Cheney: “Hill Republicans sprint to Trump’s corner before indictment details are clear” Some notable Dem reactions… — Rep. NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.): “No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.” — Rep. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-Fla.): "Those lock her up chants that people were chanting like hyenas in a stadium around the country were never funny, perhaps they now understand why.” — Rep. MIKE LEVIN (D-Calif., from a frontline district): "Donald Trump deserves every protection provided by the Constitution, and due process under the law. As that process unfolds, let us neither celebrate nor further divide." — Rep. BARBARA LEE (D-Calif.): "Now do the rest of his crimes." Some key players in the Bragg case… — Stormy Daniels: “I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don’t want to spill my champagne … merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.” — Michael Cohen took a victory lap across cable news that is difficult to summarize concisely but this line about the indictment from one of his many appearances stuck out: “It certainly goes well past the Stormy Daniels hush money payments." — MICHAEL AVENATTI, Daniels’ former attorney, via Vox’s Ben Jacobs: “Per a source familiar, Michael Avenatti has ‘very mixed emotions’ about the news today and believes ‘you can’t build a case on the testimony of Cohen and Daniels.’” The editorialists react … — NYT: “Even Donald Trump Should Be Held Accountable” — WaPo: “The Trump indictment is a poor test case for prosecuting a former president” — WSJ: “Pandora’s Donald Trump Prosecution” — Quinta Jurecic in The Atlantic: “An Astonishing, Frightening First for the Country” — Ankush Khardori in POLITICO Mag: “Trump Seems to Be the Victim of a Witch Hunt. So What?” Legal analysis … — Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney: “Your questions about the Trump indictment, answered” — Two notable points from the NYT, if you’re following the legal intricacies of Bragg’s likely case:
- “The false business records charge is the bread and butter of the district attorney’s office white-collar practice: Since Mr. Bragg took office in 2022, prosecutors have filed 117 felony counts of the charge, against 29 individuals and companies, according to data kept by the office.”
- “New York state prosecutors have secured at least one conviction in a case in which they combined falsifying business records charges with state election law crimes, though that case involved a state election, not a federal one. …[E]lection law 17-152, proposed as an option by analysts at Just Security and the legal commentator LISA RUBIN … makes it illegal to conspire to promote the election of any candidate ‘by unlawful means.’”
Happy Friday. Thanks for reading Playbook. Drop us a line with your predictions about what’s in those 30-plus counts: Rachael Bade, Eugene Daniels, Ryan Lizza.
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