Rachel Maddow Pumps the Brakes on Trump Indictment in Florida: ‘Might Not Be the Worst Case Scenario’ for Him

Rachel Maddow explained why former President Donald Trump could ultimately prevail after it was reported on Thursday night that the Department of Justice indicted him.

Trump announced the indictment on Truth Social, and this was subsequently confirmed by CNN.

He has been indicted on at least seven charges in the Southern District of Florida, including illegal retention of classified documents, obstruction, and conspiracy,” according to ABC News.

Maddow phoned into The ReidOut to share her reaction with host Joy Reid and viewers.

“Well, Joy, it’s one of those days when you both think like, wow, this is happening in my generation, in my lifetime,” she said. “We’re the first people to see federal criminal charges against a former present. It has a shock factor to it, but at the same time, I think we’ve really known was coming for some time.”

The host of The Rachel Maddow then offered some reasons why those thrilled to see Trump indicted may want to temper their excitement:

There are elements of what we know thus far that cut in the former president’s benefit, to his benefit, I think, in terms of what could’ve happened here. I mean, I’m sure he would rather face a jury in Florida than a jury in Washington, D.C. just as a matter of pure trial strategy.

If this means that the charges are very specific to the handling of classified documents – and we’ll have to see what the exact charges are and how many there are, and how serious they are – but if they are specific to that… there’s an interesting track record that he can look to in terms other people, even other high profile people, like for example, former General David Petraeus, who has been dinged for criminal conduct like that, and essentially gotten a slap on the wrist and gone on with their careers.

That said, other people have had to do prison time for these things. So, it feels like both unbelievably serious in terms of what this means for us, the American people, and a new benchmark low for our politics and what we expect of our political leaders. It also seems like it might not be the worst case scenario that Trump might’ve been imagining, at least not at this point.

Special Counsel Jack Smith has been investigating Trump’s retention of classified documents. In June 2022, an attorney for Trump signed a letter to the Department of Justice stating that, to her knowledge, no government material remained on site after agents retrieved documents from the property earlier in the year. However, the FBI executed a search warrant at the estate in August and found additional documents. It has also been reported that Trump “deliberately” misled his attorneys about his handling of the material.

Watch above via MSNBC.

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