Former president Donald Trump may have pleaded not guilty in court today on charges outlined in an indictment announced this week by the U.S. Department of Justice, but the details of that indictment were enough to shock WWL’s Newell Normand.
He pointed out that members of Trump’s own party even stood up against some of the worst of the behavior alleged in the indictment.
“What struck me is that the indictment outlines, in my view, some of the most outrageous and egregious presidential conduct I have ever seen,” said Normand. “The lying, the misdirection, the cajoling, the manipulation – and a total disregard for the rule and spirit of law. Is truly so detrimental to our constitutional republic that it really can’t be quantified.”
Trump faces allegations of conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding related to the 2020 presidential election.
Though he lost the election to President Joe Biden, Trump has continued to make unfounded claims that fraud impacted the election. Election fraud conspiracy played a role in the deadly 2021 Capitol riots.
Normand said he doesn’t know if the actions of the former president and his co-conspirators – including lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman – are criminal. Giuliani has admitted to lying about election fraud, but claims that his statements are protected as free speech.
Though Normand has also been critical of Biden, he said that the type of behavior outlined in the indictment “should not be allowed.” He also said he was thankful that other Republicans stood up to Trump and refused to go along with election fraud claims.
“He tried to manipulate hundreds, if not thousands of Republicans during the course of this thing and if half of this is true,” said Normand of Trump. “We are in more trouble than we ever thought. Because we will do anything – anything. We will compromise our moral compass. We will compromise everything good about this country for the sake of the win.”
Listen to all of Normand’s thoughts on the indictment here.






