The first thing that happens when the grand jury signs its indictment is that Donald Trump is summoned to court in Manhattan. Like thousands of others, he will be entered, and photographed. His fingerprints are taken and compared to the FBI's national database. After that, his first appearance in court takes place in a kind of detention hearing. For the first time, then, the ex-president learns exactly what he is suspected of, and a little about what the evidence looks like.

He will then most likely plead not guilty.

Will determine his future

Since we do not yet know what suspicions the grand jury has chosen to direct against Trump, it is not possible to say anything about how long a sentence he risks. He can be charged with a minor accounting violation, or with a more serious crime, such as a violation of the laws governing how political campaigns may be conducted.

The content of the indictment will determine Donald Trump's immediate future. It's no secret that he himself considers the indictment politically motivated, something some other Republicans have also come out and claimed. But clearly, a Donald Trump in prison cannot reasonably conduct a presidential campaign.

Eugene V. Debs campaigned from prison

Should that be the case, that part is not actually unprecedented. During the 1920 presidential election, Eugene V. Debs ran a presidential campaign while serving a ten-year prison sentence for violating the Espionage Act. He lost then.

How it will go now, we do not know. And if Donald Trump is acquitted at some point during the process, many observers believe it could lead straight to a victory in the 2024 presidential election. But we don't yet know anything about it.