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| March 31, 2023 |
 Former President Trump leaves after speaking at a campaign rally at Waco Regional Airport on March 25. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) |
By Ryan Fonseca Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Friday, March 31. Well, here we are. Donald Trump has become the first former U.S. president to be criminally prosecuted. The 45th president was indicted Thursday in New York City, on charges related to the much-reported $130,000 payment that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election — allegedly intended to keep Daniels from publicly saying she’d had an affair with Trump. The specific criminal charges against the former president haven’t been disclosed yet. Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg’s office contacted Trump’s attorney Thursday to “coordinate his surrender ... for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment,” according to a D.A. spokesperson. An arraignment date is not yet set (and don’t expect a public arrest). The former president released a capital-letter-rich statement calling the indictment “Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” as well as a “Witch-Hunt” fueled by “Radical Left Democrats.” Unsurprisingly (by recent standards, at least), response to the news has fallen along party lines — the Republican establishment and Trump loyalists call it a “witch hunt”; Democrats call it proof that no one is above the law. Earlier this month on his Truth Social site, Trump had called on supporters to “PROTEST” and “TAKE BACK OUR NATION!” saying his arrest was imminent. Police in New York and Los Angeles braced for disruptions at the time. Elected leaders across the U.S., including many prominent California politicians, are now weighing in on an unfolding case that will have deep national ramifications. “If the grand jury found probable cause to believe Donald J. Trump committed a crime, and the district attorney believes it can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, this step, while unprecedented, is also deeply and fundamentally necessary to preserve the rule of law,” said Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), who prosecuted Trump’s first impeachment in the Senate. Trump wasted no time in fundraising around the news, asking for contributions “to defend our movement from the never-ending witch hunts and WIN the WHITE HOUSE in 2024.” Schiff, too, put out a call for donations based on Thursday’s news. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) took aim at Bragg on Twitter, saying he “weaponized our sacred system of justice against President Donald Trump” (echoing a phrase Trump used earlier). “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,” McCarthy tweeted. That sparked a rebuttal from Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance).  This major story is still developing and The Times is following it closely. You can explore more of our coverage here:
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