Friday Round Up! 3/31/2023

What a week.

OK I realize that it’s actually Saturday but I think that “Friday” is going to have to be loosely interpreted for purposes of my round up now that the news cycle is back on Trump time. Trump time, in case you don’t remember, is when about three week’s worth of B.T. (Before Trump) news happens in the span of 24 hours. Usually starting at Friday around 5 p.m.

Anyway, in case you were hiding under a rock this past week (and I’m not judging if you were), Trump was indicted on Thursday. The specific charges remain under seal, but news reports indicate that it contains over 30 charges related to business fraud. Renato and I met early yesterday morning to what we can and cannot infer from that, as well as what we can expect from Trump as a defendant more generally:

My pieces this week:

• This op-ed for MSNBC (written pre-indictment) about this particular window of time — when he knows he’s been charged, but doesn’t know for what — and why we need to be especially careful about protecting the integrity of the information space in this window

• And ICYMI, this op-ed for MSNBC which I promised you last week but ended up not being published until Monday morning, about how one of Trump’s go-to strategies — using his lawyers as intermediaries — is backfiring all over the place

Additional pieces worth reading:

• It already feels like a long time ago, but Trump held a campaign rally in Waco, Texas a week ago. This piece by

  Joyce Vance
  on
  Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
  is important for understanding the context, as it may shape what’s to come as Trump becomes more desperate

• I’m obsessed with this comprehensive timeline of the Stormy Daniel wish money payments, including where Karen McDougal and the Access Hollywood tape fall into the big picture. I expect to see a LOT of these details surface when the indictment is unsealed, so keep it bookmarked!

Noteworthy clips from this week:

On ABC News Live, outlining the four things I am going to look for when the charges are unsealed, which I elaborated on in more details earlier this week:

ABC News Live @ABCNewsLive

Former FBI agent and senior lecturer at Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs @AshaRangappa_ speaks to @LinseyDavis about the possible charges recommended by the Trump grand jury. abcn.ws/3K1nBfG

On ABC News Live again discussing Trump and the information vacuum:

ABC News Live @ABCNewsLive

Former FBI agent and senior lecturer at Yale Jackson Institute for Global Affairs @AshaRangappa_ joins @KyraPhillips to explain the reality, of what she calls, the "information vacuum where Trump can make claims and set the narrative before anyone has a chance to respond."

And back on BBC (immediately following Alina Habba, who was a piece of work!):

BBC Newsnight @BBCNewsnight

“This is part of a broader effort to catch and kill stories that would be detrimental to Trump” Former FBI Special Agent Asha Rangappa outlines what she believes to be the facts of the prosecution #Newsnight | bbc.in/2Ps915G

Upcoming Events:

• Class is back in session next week! I’ll be writing about reflexive control, something that Trump deploys very astutely. (Please note that the lesson may go up on Thursday or Friday this week because my normal writing day, Tuesday, is the day that Trump’s charges will be unsealed.) I will be updating the syllabus by the end of this weekend as well so please check back in for new readings and topics. And if you haven’t enrolled, you can jump in anytime!

• Zoom Office Hours on Wednesday, April 12, at 9 a.m. EDT

• Guest Speaker Julia Davis will be speaking to the class about Russian media on Wednesday, April 26, at 5 p.m. EDT

That’s all for now — enjoy the weekend!