Justice finally catches up with Donald Trump

DONALD Trump’s presidency comprised a series of firsts: the occupant of the Oval Office without any prior military or government service. The first to be impeached twice. And last night, he made further history, becoming the first former US President to be criminally indicted.

The charges relate not to his actions around the January 6 Capitol attacks but to hush money paid to a porn star, Stormy Daniels. While the charges are not yet known, with indictments under seal, reports indicate that Trump faces more than 30 counts.

The news may throw the race for the Republican nomination into chaos, or it may make little difference. Trump will use the charges to fire up his base, while few elected Republican officials dare speak out against him for fear of reprisals. There is a danger that Trump uses these indictments to further fuel his false narrative of betrayal in his bid to regain power.

Trump’s “lock her up” refrain, directed at the 2016 Democrat nominee Hilary Clinton, was a low point for a US democracy that has rarely seemed more fragile. It is unclear whether this indictment signals the beginning of a welcome end to the vitriol he has injected into American public life.