Despite Americans having grown accustomed to the circus that surrounds Trump, the news truly was stunning. Email not displaying correctly?
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** OPINION
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** Media covers an ‘unprecedented’ story: former President Donald Trump indicted
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Former President Donald Trump, shown here earlier this week. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

The New York Times had the scoop blared across its homepage in big, bold letters:

TRUMP INDICTED

It’s the exact same headline — with the same big, bold letters — that could be found on the websites of CNN, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.

We’ve known the details of this case for some time now. We knew that former President Donald Trump could be indicted. Yet, if possible, remove everything you’ve come to learn over the past seven years since Trump became president and attempt to read the opening paragraph by Times reporters Ben Protess, Jonah E. Bromwich and William K. Rashbaum with fresh eyes:

“Donald J. Trump was indicted in Manhattan on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to five people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will shake up the 2024 presidential race and forever mark him as the nation’s first former president to face criminal charges.”

The key words in that sentence — hush money, porn star, historic development, 2024 presidential race, first former president to face criminal charges — should be greeted with incredulity and astonishment.

And, despite Americans having grown accustomed to the circus that surrounds Trump, the news truly was stunning.

Here’s what it looked like ([link removed]) when Wolf Blitzer announced the news on CNN. Blitzer called it “historic breaking news.” CNN, which now loathes using its “Breaking News” banner, made the right call by dusting it off and slapping it on the screen. It truly was breaking news.

“ABC World News Tonight” anchor David Muir called it “unprecedented.” CNN’s Jake Tapper called it an “all-new world.”

“Fox News Sunday” moderator Shannon Bream said, “This makes history.”

Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier said, “This is a wow moment” and we are now in “unprecedented territory.” ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl echoed those words, saying, “We are truly in uncharted territory.”

Karl noted that Trump is not just the first former president to be indicted, but he is currently the leading presidential candidate of his party. “And,” Karl said, “Trump has made it perfectly clear that he would not be deterred from running if he were indicted.”

Showing excellent hustle, ABC News executive editorial producer John Santucci spoke with Trump before Thursday evening’s “World News Tonight” newscast. According to Santucci, Trump sounded relaxed and told him, “This is an attack on our country” and called it a “political persecution.”

But, NBC News’ Chuck Todd said during the “NBC Nightly News,” “He really does fear this. He’s spent his entire life fighting the law … either via his businesses or recently his forays into politics.”

Now we wait.

It’s likely that Trump won’t be arraigned until next week, but those details are being worked out between the Manhattan district attorney’s office and Trump’s representatives. Until then, we won’t even officially know what’s in the indictment, which is still sealed. Even Trump doesn’t know yet what’s in the indictment, and likely won’t until he is arraigned.

Politico’s Erica Orden reported ([link removed]) that the Manhattan district attorney’s office wanted Trump to surrender today, but Trump’s team said it needed more time to coordinate with the Secret Service.

CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller said on air, “A date will be set for an arraignment. That date will be the same date he surrenders.”

Miller, who reported that Trump might face as many as 34 charges ([link removed]) , said Trump likely will be fingerprinted and have his mug shot taken, but he will still be, because he’s the president, protected by Secret Service, and is going to be released on his own recognizance.

New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, who covers and knows Trump as well as anyone, said on CNN ([link removed]) , “This caught Mar-a-Lago and Trump advisers very much by surprise. … They are in something of shock. (But) I think they will move past that very quickly. I think you will see Trump get very aggressive about (Manhattan District Attorney Alvin) Bragg.”

Haberman went on to say, “This is not a moment Donald Trump wanted. It’s a moment that he’s been avoiding for many, many, many decades — being indicted criminally. It may help him politically. There are reasons to believe this case in particular could with his base. But nobody wants an indictment and Donald Trump is not an exception.”

GOP strategist and former Trump campaign adviser David Urban said on CNN, “I don’t think Donald Trump wants attention this way. You’ll see the president being defiant, I think, and pushing back harder than you’ve ever seen him before.”

Other notable pieces about the latest on the Trump indictment:
* The Washington Post’s Perry Stein with “Trump is indicted in N.Y. Here’s what it means and what happens next.” ([link removed])
* The Washington Post’s editorial board with “The Trump indictment is a poor test case for prosecuting a former president.” ([link removed]) The board wrote, “Breaches of campaign finance law undermine democracy and deserve to be taken seriously. Yet the potential downsides of indicting Mr. Trump ought to be taken seriously, too. This prosecution is now bound to be the test case for any future former president, as well as, of course, proceedings against this former president in particular — of which there are plenty.” They added, “Public perception and political strategy shouldn’t dissuade a district attorney from bringing a solid case, but neither should they persuade him to bring a shaky one. This prosecution needs to be airtight. Otherwise, it’s not worth continuing.”
* Los Angeles Times columnist Mark Z. Barabak with “Scandal after scandal, Trump has defied political physics. Will this time be different?” ([link removed]) Barabak notes Trump’s ability to wriggle out of scandals and troubles, but wrote, “There is a strong case to be made, however, that things have changed — that Trump’s ability to defy political physics may have ended and his scot-free days are behind him.”
* PolitiFact’s Becca Schimmel and Amy Sherman with “Timeline: What Donald Trump has said about Stormy Daniels and $130,000 payment.” ([link removed])


** Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich detained in Russia
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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is escorted by officers from the Lefortovsky court to a bus in Moscow on Thursday. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Troubling news out of Russia.

Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent for The Wall Street Journal based in Moscow, is being detained by Russian authorities and accused of espionage.

In a statement, the Russian Federal Security Service said Gershkovich “is suspected of spying in the interests of the American government.” The RFS said Gershkovich is being detained in Yekaterinburg, a city about 900 miles east of Moscow.

A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “We’re not talking about suspicions. He was caught red-handed.”

However, the spokesperson offered no details.

The Wall Street Journal immediately denied Russia’s claims, writing ([link removed]) , “The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.”

Almar Latour, the chief executive of Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, told staff in a memo, “This is an incredibly disturbing development,”

In a statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, “The targeting of American citizens by the Russian government is unacceptable. We condemn the detention of Mr. Gershkovich in the strongest terms. We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and repression of journalists and freedom of the press.”

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the U.S. wants consular access to Gershkovich, and said, “In the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices.”

The New York Times’ Daniel Victor and Michael M. Grynbaum wrote ([link removed]) , “His detention comes as relations between Russia and the United States continue to deteriorate, with Washington leading a coalition of nations supporting Ukraine’s military defense and pushing for Moscow’s further diplomatic and economic isolation.” They added, “The detention is an ominous sign for the rights of foreign journalists based in Russia.”

As if tensions could get much higher between the U.S. and Russia.

The Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Michaels and Vivian Salama wrote ([link removed]) , “Mr. Gershkovich’s detention and charge on the allegation of espionage mean the case is likely to become a high-level diplomatic issue, and is also expected to heighten tensions between Moscow and Washington.”

The Associated Press reported that Gershkovich is the first American reporter to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since 1986. That’s when Nicholas Daniloff, a Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, was arrested by the KGB. He was released 20 days later when he was swapped for a Russian who was arrested by the FBI on spying charges.

But Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov didn’t sound as if a swap was possible at this time, telling Russian news services, “I wouldn’t even consider this issue now because people who were previously swapped had already served their sentences.”

And now onto the rest of today’s media news, tidbits and links for your weekend review …
* It appears as if several noted news organizations — including The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Politico and BuzzFeed, just to name a few — will not pay for Twitter verification. Starting Saturday, Twitter will remove the blue verification checkmarks that were previously in place for those who qualified under Twitter's rules. Now those who wish to be verified must sign up for the $8-a-month Twitter Blue subscription. Most media organizations choosing to not sign up are using the thinking of the Los Angeles Times. Managing editor Sara Yasin told staff ([link removed]) , “Verification no longer establishes authority or credibility, instead it will only mean that someone has paid for a Twitter Blue subscription.” Yasin did say Times staffers are welcome to pay for the subscription out of pocket.
* Speaking of Twitter, commentary from the Los Angeles Times’ Matt Pearce in “If Twitter finally dies, where do we find the smart people?” ([link removed])
* And one more on Twitter. The Washington Post’s Faiz Siddiqui and Jeremy B. Merrill with “Twitter pushes hate speech, extremist content into ‘For You’ pages.” ([link removed])
* Disney’s sizable companywide layoffs have hit one of its properties: ABC News. Some 50 staffers inside ABC News were laid off Thursday, including several senior executives. CNN’s Oliver Darcy reports ([link removed]) the list of those laid off includes senior vice president of newsgathering Wendy Fisher, senior vice president of talent Galen Gordon, vice president of talent Mary Noonan, Los Angeles bureau chief David Herndon, vice president of communications Alison Rudnick, senior executive producer Chris Vlasto and executive editorial producer Heather Riley. In a memo to staff, ABC News president Kim Godwin said, “Throughout the company, teams are being impacted by the downsizing that was announced several weeks ago, including our own ABC News family. While these actions are never easy, they are a necessary step to ensure we’re on solid footing for the years ahead as we chart a sustainable, growth-oriented path forward for
the entire organization.”
* In an interview with NBC News’ Cynthia McFadden ([link removed]) , fired Fox News producer Abby Grossberg says her former network is a “big corporate machine that destroys people.” Here’s more from NBC News ([link removed]) .
* Associated Press media writer David Bauder with “CNN preaches patience as ratings tank during turnaround.” ([link removed])
* As part of The Washington Post’s “American Icon” ([link removed]) series about AR-15s, the Post and Ipsos asked nearly 400 AR-15 owners why they own the rifle. The results are here in this Post story by Emily Guskin, Aadit Tambe and Jon Gerberg: “Why do Americans own AR-15s?” ([link removed])
* I missed this fun story by Dan Brooks ([link removed]) when it came out in January in The New York Times Magazine. Then I heard it read aloud on The Daily’s Sunday Read. So check out the audio version: “How Danhausen Became Professional Wrestling’s Strangest Star.” ([link removed])
* Wall Street Journal sports columnist Jason Gay with “John McEnroe Is Playing Pickleball for $1 Million? You Cannot Be Serious.” ([link removed]) Great, as always, from Gay, who tweeted ([link removed]) that he plays the sport. But he also added this perceptive tweet ([link removed]) on Thursday: “The founder of Major League Pickleball recently said he believes the sport will ‘easily’ become a top 5 TV sport, but I find it a tough watch. Pickleball feels destined to be one of those activities that is more fun to do than watch other people do, like eating, and karaoke.”
* The most infuriating thing you’ll read all day. The Sacramento Bee’s Sam Stanton with “9-year-old California girl wanted to save her goat from slaughter. Then came the search warrant.” ([link removed])
* Fascinating drama here in The New York Times from Michael Forsythe and Benjamin Weiser: “The Undoing of Guo Wengui, Billionaire Accused of Fraud on 2 Continents.” ([link removed])
* The Guardian’s Giles Tremlett with “Three abandoned children, two missing parents and a 40-year mystery.” ([link removed])
* This weekend, longtime CBS announcer Jim Nantz will call his final Final Four. He has been the lead play-by-play announcer for the men’s NCAA basketball championship since 1991. He will remain CBS’s top announcer on the NFL and golf. But as he approaches his final Final Four, Nantz is profiled by the Los Angeles Times’ Sam Farmer in “Jim Nantz broadcasts last shining moments in NCAA tournament with some mourning.” ([link removed])
* Mark Russell, a political satirist and comedian known for playing the piano and singing songs about politics, has died. He was 90. The cause of death, according to his widow, was prostate cancer. Bart Barnes has more in The Washington Post: “Mark Russell, political satirist with a star-spangled piano, dies at 90.” ([link removed])


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