On his show “The Beat,” MSNBC anchor Ari Melber said on Thursday that reports of former President Donald Trump’s indictment signaled a significant shift. Melber suggested that the indictment broke a long-standing norm that former presidents are immune from criminal charges, saying “the seal is broken.”
Anchor Nicolle Wallace supported the former president’s indictment in her response to Melber, “Yeah, but I mean if you and I did all three of these things right, if you and I silenced a porn star to benefit our presidential campaign if you and I incited a deadly insurrection and if you and I took classified documents to Mar-a-Lago and said they’re mine because I thought them declassified, we would be criminally exposed in all three jurisdictions, state and federal. It’s only in conversations about Donald Trump that people are like, ‘Well, let’s go with the best one.’ And frankly, that analysis has shifted too until classified documents are found at Pence’s home and Biden’s library. People thought Mar-a-Lago was the strongest prosecution. So, you know, I’m not a lawyer. You are. But people should follow the facts and treat everybody the same. If you prosecute me, you should prosecute an ex-president.”
Melber replied, “Right. I think where we go now is we’re in a dividing line. March 30th here is the first day of the rest of Donald Trump’s life. In a sense, it may be the first day in the rest of this political era we have been living through because the seal is broken. It shows he can be charged. He is legally presumed innocent and entitled to all of the rights that you are supposed to get, even rights that he, quite publicly as president, tried to deny others because it is the rule of law. And we are trying to have a civilized court process even for people who wouldn’t give it to others.”
According to two sources familiar with the case, former President Donald Trump is facing over 30 counts of business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury. This marks the first time in American history that a current or former president will face criminal charges. Trump is expected to appear in court on Tuesday, although the charges themselves are not yet publicly known. The indictment has been filed under seal and charges will be announced in the coming days.
I spoke with President Donald Trump moments ago. He is resolute and focused.
He is also concerned about what this politically-motivated indictment will do to America's brand around the world.
We will wake up in a very different America tomorrow because we can no longer have… pic.twitter.com/XBXTNpW3TE
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 31, 2023
Former President Trump released a statement saying, “This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats, the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country, have been engaged in a witch-hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement.”
