Skip to content

Site Navigation

  • The Atlantic
  • PopularLatestNewsletters

    Sections

    • Politics
    • Ideas
    • Fiction
    • Technology
    • Science
    • Photo
    • Business
    • Culture
    • Planet
    • Global
    • Books
    • Podcasts
    • Health
    • Education
    • Projects
    • Features
    • Family
    • Events
    • Shadowland
    • Progress
    • Newsletters
    • Explore The Atlantic Archive
    • Play The Atlantic crossword

    The Print Edition

    Latest IssuePast Issues

    Give a Gift
  • Quick Links
    • Dear Therapist
      Dear Therapist
    • Crossword Puzzle
      Crossword Puzzle
    • Magazine Archive
      Magazine Archive
    • Your Subscription
      Your Subscription
  • Popular
  • Latest
  • Newsletters
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe

Analysis: Trump’s newest indictment may be far more serious than his first.

Donald Trump
Doug Mills / NYT / Redux

The Stupidest Crimes Imaginable

The federal indictment of Donald Trump depicts a man who knew that what he was doing was wrong and went to great lengths to cover it up.

David A. Graham
  • Accountability Is Everything

    Kimberly Wehle
    Illustration of Donald Trump
  • What Reparations Actually Bought

    Morgan Ome
    Photo collage of Japanese American incarceration camps, snippets of text, and photos of Japanese Americans during World War II
  • Never Have I Ever Cleverly Solves TV’s College Problem

    Shirley Li
    Paxton Hall-Yoshida (played by Darren Barnet) from Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’
  • The Crop That’s Sucking the Colorado River Dry

    Samuel Shaw
    A field of green alfalfa
  • Auguste Rodin's sculpture 'The Thinker' next to a basket of laundry
    Illustration by Matt Chase. Sources: Getty; The Metropolitan Museum.

    The Case for Selective Slackerism

    Sheon Han
  • In a handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, stacks of boxes are seen in a bathroom and shower in the Mar-a-Lago Club’s Lake Room at former President Donald Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
    U.S. Department of Justice via Getty

    Trump’s Indictment Reveals a National-Security Nightmare

    Tom Nichols
  • A TV image of former President Donald Trump speaking in front of U.S. flags
    Liu Jie / Xinhua / eyevine / Redux

    An Exit From the GOP’s Labyrinth of Trump Lies

    The special counsel’s indictment offers party leaders their best escape from the loyalty trap yet—if they choose to take it.

    David Frum
  • illustration of Mel Brooks smiling with retro 1950s sparkles on blue background
    Illustration by Lauren Tamaki

    The Immortal Mel Brooks

    The 2,000-year-old man turns 97 this summer. I talked with him about fighting in World War II, his life in comedy, and the secret to happiness.

    Judd Apatow
  • Trump faces a cheering crowd after a rally at the Waco Regional Airport, in Texas.
    Brandon Bell / Getty

    The Indictment Is Stunning. Will Trump Supporters Care?

    The former president has a diabolical genius for selling his supporters on an alternative version of reality.

    David Axelrod
  • An employee arranges discarded televisions at an electronic waste recycling factory in Wuhan, China, in 2011.
    Reuters

    How We Watch TV

    From the use of subtitles to viewing times, television habits can vary even within the same household.

    Isabel Fattal

Women Aren’t Just Small Men

We’re living in an age of “period positivity.” That’s not enough.

Rose George
outline of a female figure on a red background
Laia Abril
  • The Happiest Way to Change Jobs

    Arthur C. Brooks
    illustration of a person walking from office chair to office chair with various expressions on them
  • How Lifeguards Lost Their Luster

    Rachel Gutman-Wei
    Photo of an empty lifeguard chair on a beach
  • The Price of Title 42 Is the Battered Bodies of My Patients

    Brian Elmore
    Migrants gathered at night in front of the border wall

Writers

see all
  • Isabel FattalHow We Watch TV
  • Shirley LiNever Have I Ever Cleverly Solves TV’s College Problem
  • Morgan OmeWhat Reparations Actually Bought
  • Tom NicholsTrump’s Indictment Reveals a National-Security Nightmare
  • David A. GrahamThe Stupidest Crimes Imaginable
  • David FrumAn Exit From the GOP’s Labyrinth of Trump Lies
  • Annie LowreyNew York Failed the Smoke Test
  • Headshot
    Rachel Gutman-WeiHow Lifeguards Lost Their Luster
  • Alan TaylorPhotos of the Week: Nesting Herons, Giant Egg, Duckling Watch
  • Russell BermanA Supreme Court Ruling That Could Tip the House
  • Conor FriedersdorfThe Battle Over Smartphones at School
  • Caroline Mimbs NyceHow Real Is Smoke Brain?
Scroll →

Magazine

past issues

Enjoy unlimited access to all of The Atlantic’s journalism, in the print edition and online.

Subscribe

Podcasts

see all
  • Radio Atlantic

    Stories and conversations that feed your intellectual curiosity.

  • How to Talk to People

    A series exploring the barriers to community building and why—in a world with endless opportunities to connect—many people still feel alone..

  • Holy Week

    The story of a revolution undone. Hosted by Vann R. Newkirk II.

Latest

see all
  1. An employee arranges discarded televisions at an electronic waste recycling factory in Wuhan, China, in 2011.

    How We Watch TV

    Isabel Fattal
    8:00 AM ET
  2. A field of green alfalfa

    The Crop That’s Sucking the Colorado River Dry

    Samuel Shaw
    8:00 AM ET
  3. Paxton Hall-Yoshida (played by Darren Barnet) from Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’

    Never Have I Ever Cleverly Solves TV’s College Problem

    Shirley Li
    8:00 AM ET
  4. Illustration of Donald Trump

    Accountability Is Everything

    Kimberly Wehle
    7:30 AM ET
  5. Photo collage of Japanese American incarceration camps, snippets of text, and photos of Japanese Americans during World War II

    What Reparations Actually Bought

    Morgan Ome
    7:30 AM ET
  6. Auguste Rodin's sculpture 'The Thinker' next to a basket of laundry

    The Case for Selective Slackerism

    Sheon Han
    7:00 AM ET
  7. In a handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, stacks of boxes are seen in a bathroom and shower in the Mar-a-Lago Club’s Lake Room at former President Donald Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

    Trump’s Indictment Reveals a National-Security Nightmare

    Tom Nichols
    June 9, 2023
  8. Trump faces a cheering crowd after a rally at the Waco Regional Airport, in Texas.

    The Indictment Is Stunning. Will Trump Supporters Care?

    David Axelrod
    June 9, 2023
  9. Donald Trump

    The Stupidest Crimes Imaginable

    David A. Graham
    June 9, 2023
  10. A road in Mississippi in the 1960s.

    The ‘Uniquely Southern Storytelling’ of Charles Portis

    Gal Beckerman
    June 9, 2023
  11. A TV image of former President Donald Trump speaking in front of U.S. flags

    An Exit From the GOP’s Labyrinth of Trump Lies

    David Frum
    June 9, 2023
  12. New York City covered in smoke

    New York Failed the Smoke Test

    Annie Lowrey
    June 9, 2023
  13. outline of a female figure on a red background

    Women Aren’t Just Small Men

    Rose George
    June 9, 2023
  14. Photo of an empty lifeguard chair on a beach

    How Lifeguards Lost Their Luster

    Rachel Gutman-Wei
    June 9, 2023
  15. A split image of Shiv Roy from "Succession" and Sonny Corinthos from "General Hospital"

    How the Daytime Soap Opera Took Over Prestige Television

    Mayukh Sen
    June 9, 2023
  16. illustration of man seated under picture of Mount Rushmore in waiting room holding crutches next to older man standing and reading newspaper

    Inside Frank Bascombe’s Head, Again

    Adam Begley
    June 9, 2023
  17. illustration of Mel Brooks smiling with retro 1950s sparkles on blue background

    The Immortal Mel Brooks

    Judd Apatow
    June 9, 2023
  18. Migrants gathered at night in front of the border wall

    The Price of Title 42 Is the Battered Bodies of My Patients

    Brian Elmore
    June 9, 2023
  19. Illustration of a cop from "The French Connection"

    Don’t Censor Racism Out of the Past

    Thomas Chatterton Williams
    June 9, 2023
  20. Grace Jones performs onstage wearing a head covering made of many colorful sticks.

    Photos of the Week: Nesting Herons, Giant Egg, Duckling Watch

    Alan Taylor
    June 9, 2023

Popular

see all
  1. Donald Trump
    The Stupidest Crimes Imaginable
    David A. Graham
  2. A field of green alfalfa
    The Crop That’s Sucking the Colorado River Dry
    Samuel Shaw
  3. TV screens
    Why Is Everyone Watching TV With the Subtitles On?
    Devin Gordon
  4. Chris Licht, chair and CEO, CNN Worldwide
    Inside the Meltdown at CNN
    Tim Alberta
  5. A TV image of former President Donald Trump speaking in front of U.S. flags
    An Exit From the GOP’s Labyrinth of Trump Lies
    David Frum
  6. illustration of Mel Brooks smiling with retro 1950s sparkles on blue background
    The Immortal Mel Brooks
    Judd Apatow
  7. In a handout photo provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, stacks of boxes are seen in a bathroom and shower in the Mar-a-Lago Club’s Lake Room at former President Donald Trump’s estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
    Trump’s Indictment Reveals a National-Security Nightmare
    Tom Nichols
  8. Paxton Hall-Yoshida (played by Darren Barnet) from Netflix’s ‘Never Have I Ever’
    Never Have I Ever Cleverly Solves TV’s College Problem
    Shirley Li
  9. Trump faces a cheering crowd after a rally at the Waco Regional Airport, in Texas.
    The Indictment Is Stunning. Will Trump Supporters Care?
    David Axelrod
  10. outline of a female figure on a red background
    Women Aren’t Just Small Men
    Rose George
Scroll →

Newsletters

See All

The Atlantic Daily

Get our editors’ guide to what matters in the world, delivered to your inbox every weekday.

Your newsletter subscriptions are subject to The Atlantic's Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

Crossword

Play the crossword that gets more challenging every weekday.

The Atlantic Crossword PromoPlay Crossword