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Linda Feldmann
Former President Donald Trump鈥檚 indictment Thursday will surely dominate headlines for weeks and months to come. We are living through history, the first indictment of a former United States president. There鈥檚 much to sort through, including the legal and political ramifications.
We offer two stories today: first, a look at the third and climactic act of 鈥渁 narrative arc devoted to the rise, fall, and possible redemption鈥� of a former American president 鈥� now a candidate for 2024. We also have a team of reporters looking at what the indictment means up and down the political system, from party leaders to voters.
But we cannot allow this historic moment to obscure other profoundly important news. Russian authorities鈥� detention March 29 of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on charges of 鈥渆spionage鈥� represents a return to Soviet-style tactics at a time of deteriorating U.S.-Russian relations. Mr. Gershkovich鈥檚 arrest in the city of Yekaterinburg, 1,000 miles east of Moscow, is thought to be the first detention of an American reporter in Russia since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
I remember well the 1986 arrest in Moscow of Nick Daniloff, an American reporter for U.S. News and World Report. A Soviet acquaintance had handed him an envelope containing maps marked 鈥渢op secret,鈥� and off he went to the notorious Lefortovo Prison. After four weeks, Mr. Daniloff was released.
Then, U.S.-Soviet relations were moving in a largely positive direction. Today, the Russian war in Ukraine has sent relations plunging, with no bottom in sight. Russia鈥檚 10-month detention last year of U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner on drug charges serves as a sobering reminder of the country鈥檚 hardball tactics. She was released in exchange for notorious Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Other Americans remain in Russian prisons.
The Biden administration says the spying charge against Mr. Gershkovich is 鈥渞idiculous鈥� and has called for his immediate release. But the larger context is chilling. Press freedoms around the world are under attack, as with Monitor contributor Fahad Shah, a Kashmiri journalist who remains behind bars in northern India for his reporting.
Mr. Gershkovich鈥檚 arrest is regarded as no less than a hostage-taking. In a note to fellow Washington bureau chiefs, the Journal鈥檚 Paul Beckett urged aggressive coverage of the situation.
And, he concluded, 鈥減lease keep Evan and his family in your thoughts.鈥�
