The other argument that Leonhardt and Philbrick summarize gives the game away. Trump “has repeatedly shown disdain for laws and traditions that predecessors from both parties followed,” they write. “He told thousands of lies while in office; refused to participate in a peaceful transfer of power; used the power of the presidency to benefit his company; pressured a foreign leader to smear a political rival; and much more. At a certain point, the rule of law becomes meaningless if anybody can repeatedly ignore it.”

Trump, in other words, is an awful person who has done awful things, and this prosecution, no matter how weak its basis, is an opportunity to deliver his well-deserved comeuppance. But Bragg’s case against Trump requires proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the former president committed a specific crime under New York law. Prosecuting him for other reasons is the antithesis of “the rule of law.”