Detroit Today: Discussing the impact of Donald Trump’s indictment

News broke Thursday that a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump on criminal charges. The case is one of several criminal investigations pending before the former U.S. president. The decision makes him both the first president to be impeached twice and the first former president to be indicted.

Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post and Brown University political science professor Wendy Schiller joined guest host Nick Austin to discuss the breaking story, its implications for the country, and what it says about the rule of law in the United States of America.

“If you’re not above the law, and you’ve broken the law, then you are subject to prosecution.” – Wendy Schiller, political science professor

Listen: Why New York prosecutors decided to criminally charge Donald Trump

Guests

Azi Paybarah is a Washington Post reporter covering campaigns and breaking politics news. He cautions against assuming the prosecutions are politically motivated.

“If you believe in due process, then you have to also believe in patience — if you believe that there is equality under the law,” says Paybarah. “And if you believe that there’s a thing called justice and everyone has rights, then you also believe that there has to be institutions to make that happen. And it can’t just be built on a cult of personality.”

Wendy Schiller is a professor and chair of political science at Brown University. She thinks the Manhattan District Attorney’s decision to move forward with the case is not politically motivated for multiple reasons.

“If it was politics, a new district attorney is not going to take this on and be the first one out the doors [because] that’s too politically risky,” says Schiller. “So there has to be pretty good evidence here, they think they can win this case.”