Commentary: Why Donald Trump’s federal indictment is as breathtaking as it was inevitable

In one sense, it was breathtaking: the first ever indictment of a former president by the Department of Justice he once oversaw — and therefore the most important federal charges in U.S. history.

In another, it was expected. Once Donald Trump had received a formal target letter from the department, his fate was effectively sealed.

But that was only the latest in a series of recent signs that charges were inevitable. The months and years of questions about whether the Biden administration should or