This is a momentous occasion, and not only for President Trump. This moment portends a massive change in the norms of this nation that all Americans who care about the neutral rule of law should pay close attention to, for it raises the specter of the partisan weaponization of the criminal justice system—not just by the Democrats targeting Trump but by Republicans who will certainly retaliate when they regain control of the criminal charging process.

How do we know this is about political retribution, not the rule of law? Look at the case. One would expect that such an unprecedented criminal prosecution would be the strongest one in political history. And yet, what information we do have suggests a weak case that would never have been brought if it wasn’t being brought against Donald Trump.

Indeed, in my book Get Trump, I predicted that Trump would be indicted. But even writing a book about the massive attacks President Trump sustained from his political adversaries, I could not have imagined that the DOJ would suffice with a charge as meager as the mere possession of classified documents. I thought they would go after Trump over some process crime growing out of the investigation. I assumed that before proceeding, they would develop a far stronger case—certainly stronger than the extraordinarily weak case put forward by District Attorney Alvin Bragg in Manhattan.

It appears that I was wrong. I gave them too much credit.

[This came out a few hours after Dersh’s first pass at this, which was to warn everyone not to jump to these conclusions. The first is worth reading, too. — Ed]