Donald Trump, the former president and current front-runner for the Republican nomination, was indicted today in connection with his widespread efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The charges, brought by the special counsel Jack Smith in Federal District Court in Washington, emerged from a sprawling federal investigation into Trump’s attempts to cling to power after losing the election to President Biden.
Trump was charged on four counts: conspiracy to defraud the U.S., conspiracy to threaten the rights of others, and one count each of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding before Congress. Convictions on the first two would carry a sentence of up to five years in prison each; the obstruction charges carry up to 20 years. Prosecutors said Trump had six co-conspirators, but did not name them.
Today’s indictment represents an extraordinary moment in U.S. history: a former president campaigning to return to the White House being charged over attempts to use the levers of power to subvert democracy and remain in office against the will of voters. “Despite having lost, the defendant was determined to remain in power,” prosecutors wrote.
Trump was charged by federal prosecutors in June for illegally holding onto classified documents. He also faces counts in another case in Manhattan as well as potential charges in Georgia.
“Not to pooh-pooh the earlier indictments of Trump — they carry serious accusations,” my colleague Ben Protess told me. “But this one strikes more so at the core of American democracy. This one is about the peaceful transfer of power. This is about making sure that whoever people voted for is in fact inaugurated as president.”
In Michigan, Matthew DePerno, a key figure in efforts to overturn the 2020 election, was arraigned on state criminal charges.
The U.S. economy is improving. Biden wants some credit
Inflation is cooling, business investment is rising and consumers are slowly becoming more optimistic. There’s little more a sitting president could hope for.
Yet with polls showing that voters are more likely to disapprove of President Biden’s handling of the economy than approve of it, administration officials are working to garner more credit for what they call “Bidenomics.” The 2021 stimulus bill, they say, helped the nation recover from the pandemic. And infrastructure, manufacturing and climate bills have fueled a factory construction boom.
For more: Our chief political analyst Nate Cohn looked at the polls and asked: Can a Biden-Trump rematch really be that close?
Critical Ukrainian ports come under threat
Small Ukrainian ports on the Danube river, just a few hundred feet from Romania and hardly used before the war, became the only shipping outlet for millions of tons of grain trapped in Ukraine after Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal. And Russia has made clear they, too, are under threat.
In Russia, a drone attack hit the same building in central Moscow for the second time in 48 hours. Russia blamed Ukraine, which had made it clear it would target symbolic and military-related sites deep inside Russia.
The Niger coup threatens to set off a wider conflict
Nearly a week after the coup in Niger, there’s still uncertainty about who is truly in charge there. More than 250 Europeans were evacuated from the capital today on a plane sent by France. For the latest, we turned to Declan Walsh, our chief Africa correspondent:
“The leaders of Mali and Burkina Faso on Tuesday backed the soldiers who claimed to be in charge in Niger,” Declan said. Those leaders “also seized power in military coups, which led to their suspension from the Economic Community of West African States, a regional union. That bloc threatened on Sunday to lead a military intervention in Niger unless the ousted president was returned to office.”
“It’s unclear if either side is serious about going to war,” Declan added, “but this signals how divided West Africa is.”
More top news
Obituary: Sheila Oliver, New Jersey’s lieutenant governor and the first Black woman to hold statewide office there, died at 71.
Politics: The super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign had vastly more money than those backing his rivals. But as it spent big, he slid in polls. (Here’s who has qualified for the first Republican debate so far.)
Science: The family of Henrietta Lacks, the Black woman whose cells were taken without consent for research, settled its suit against a biotech company.
Climate: A U.N. agency proposed adding Venice to its World Heritage in Danger list.
Energy: The global solar industry is cutting some ties to China, but its exposure to forced labor remains high.
Congress: Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey is under investigation by the Justice Department for the second time. This time, his wife is also in prosecutors’ cross hairs.
Guns: Online platforms in the U.S. provide a loophole for private weapons sellers. A new law may help the White House crack down.
Sports: Tiger Woods will join the PGA Tour’s board after a player rebellion over the tour’s deal with Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund.
EVENING WIND DOWN
America’s museums are getting more expensive
When the Guggenheim Museum opened in 1959, it charged 50 cents for admission, or about $5.20 when adjusted for inflation. By 2015, it had risen to $25. The museum announced today that it was increasing the price for an adult ticket again, to $30 — the new standard for major museums.
That’s now the price to enter the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The Art Institute of Chicago even charges $32 to out-of-state visitors. The heightened fees are in large part to make up for inflation-fueled costs and declines in membership and attendance. But some industry leaders are worried that the prices could alienate younger, less affluent crowds.
The end of a light bulb era
The incandescent light bulb — a technology patented by Thomas Edison in the late 1800s — will soon be a thing of the past. Beginning today, American stores are effectively banned from selling the old-school bulbs under new federal energy efficiency rules.
Stores will still sell incandescent bulbs for ovens and insect traps but will otherwise shift to exclusively selling LED bulbs, which are more energy efficient and already in widespread use. After the change, the Department of Energy expects Americans to collectively save nearly $3 billion a year on their utility bills.
Dinner table topics
The Beyoncé express: Fans flooded New Jersey Transit to catch the superstar’s performances at MetLife Stadium. Here’s what it looked like.
#NoBarbenheimer: The “Barbenheimer” phenomenon has been met with anger in Japan, which this month will commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings.
Move over, men: The narrative was that men hunted and women gathered. The narrative was biased and wrong, researchers found.
WHAT TO DO TONIGHT
Cook: This summer vegetable niçoise salad makes fresh produce the star of the show.
Watch: Here are three great documentaries to stream this month.
Read: Sian Hughes’s debut novel, “Pearl,” is among the books longlisted for the Booker Prize.
Listen: Our writer recommends putting Lady Wray’s “Piece of Me” on repeat.
Save: It’s sale season for swimwear, a great time to upgrade to a truly great swimsuit.
Cope: Menopause can make hair go haywire. Here’s how to manage it.
Cut: A good knife set can last you a lifetime. Wirecutter recommends this one.
Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword.
ONE LAST THING
A life-changing lottery ticket
In June, 11 women who work together as sanitation laborers in India pooled their money to buy a $3 lottery ticket because they couldn’t afford the cost individually.
Last week, they won. Their prize was $1.2 million, or roughly $65,000 each after taxes — far from a big draw by U.S. lottery standards. But for these women, most of whom carried significant debts and several of whom are members of a social class that was once deemed untouchable, the sum was roughly equivalent to a lifetime of wages.
Have a lucky evening.
Thanks for reading. Lynsey Chutel contributed to today’s newsletter. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew
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