The Practical Impact of the Indictment of Former President Donald Trump

In our system, there is one weird quirk. Only serving presidents are immune from federal prosecution. That immunity only lasts while that one person still holds that one office. Other than that, indicting politicians is totally normal. We do it all the time and we can handle it unless a particular politician seeks to make his indictment a catalyst for his supporters and his party rising up in an anti-indictment movement. The question of Trump turning himself in to face arraignment could break us as a country.