The indictment of former President Donald Trump on charges related to his unauthorized possession of classified documents has introduced a wild card into the 2024 presidential campaign, all but ensuring another election marked by allegations of wrongdoing against a major candidate.
A day after the June 8 announcement that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would pursue criminal charges, supporters and detractors of the former president took their predictable sides.
Left uncomfortably in the middle were Republican candidates for the 2024 presidential nomination who faced the choice between directly attacking their strongest opponent or soft-pedaling to avoid angering his formidable base of loyalists.
For Trump, no stranger to controversy, the indictment could be both a blessing and a curse….