CNN did something it has been loath to do in the Licht era. It pulled out the “BREAKING NEWS” banner on Thursday night — and for good reason.
There was major breaking news.
It was learned that former President Donald Trump will face criminal charges from the Justice Department over taking classified documents to his Mar-a-Lago home after he left office and then obstructed the government from getting them back.
The Washington Post’s Devlin Barrett, Perry Stein and Josh Dawsey called it “a seismic event in the nation’s political and legal history.”
Major news outlets blared the headline across the top of their homepages.
The New York Times: “TRUMP INDICTED IN DOCUMENTS CASE”
The Washington Post: “Trump charged in secret documents case”
NBC News: “TRUMP INDICTED ON 7 CHARGES IN CLASSIFIED DOCS PROBE”
How big of a deal is this? The New York Times’ Alan Feuer, Maggie Haberman, William K. Rashbaum and Ben Protess wrote this extraordinary paragraph: “The indictment, filed in Federal District Court in Miami, is the first time in American history a former president has faced federal charges. It puts the nation in an extraordinary position, given Mr. Trump’s status not only as a onetime chief executive but also as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to face President Biden, whose administration will now be seeking to convict his potential rival.”
In several posts on his Truth Social, Trump claimed that he has done “nothing wrong.” He called it a “dark day” and wrote in all caps: “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN.” He also called it a “witch hunt” and put out a four-minute video that ended with, “I am innocent and we will prove that very, very soundly and hopefully very quickly.”
Several media outlets reported Trump will be indicted on seven counts. In his statement, Trump said has been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern.
