FiveThirtyEight’s top politics stories this week

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Popular In Politics] Thursday, March 30, 2023 [1. What Happens If Trump Is Indicted?]( [SlackChat-0313-4x3a]( Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited. [Read more]( [2. States Are Cracking Down On Militias — Except For Idaho]( [An armed man stands guard]( In a bucolic corner of southwestern Vermont, locals have been disturbed for years by a neighbor’s weekend hobby: running a paramilitary training camp in the woods near West Pawlet. As complaints about the facility’s activities rose, many wondered why law enforcement wasn’t cracking down on the gun fights, explosions and allegations of participants harassing locals. Despite multiple complaints to Vermont State Police, none of the activities rose to the level of a criminal charge. Though the Vermont Constitution forbids private military units, the language is old and broad, making it difficult to act. [Read more]( [3. What We Know About Trump’s Legal Troubles]( [TRUMP-INVESTIGATIONS_4x3]( Despite a near-constant swirl of legal problems, former President Donald Trump has managed to avoid indictment so far. But one prosecutor seems poised to take the plunge and become the first to criminally indict a former president. Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, is reportedly close to filing charges for Trump’s role in paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. [Read more]( [4. Unions Have Been Under Attack For Decades, But Michigan Just Gave Them A Big Win]( [Union members from around the country rally at the Michigan State Capitol to protest a vote on Right-to-Work legislation December 11, 2012]( On Friday, Michigan repealed an 11-year-old law that weakened unions’ power in the workplace. Known as a “right-to-work” law, this type of legislation has been around since at least 1943, and Michigan is now one of only a handful of states to ever repeal it. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: Good Or Bad Use Of Polling (Taylor’s Version)]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.