Trump indictment is stress test for US democracy as Republicans rally round

Partisan politics and rule of law on collision course after former president and current candidate charged on 37 federal counts

Former US president Donald Trump's stunning criminal charges have triggered a fierce counterattack from Republicans, putting America on a collision course between partisan politics and the rule of law ahead of a potentially explosive election.

On Friday prosecutors unsealed a devastating 37-count indictment against Trump, accusing him of risking some of the country's most sensitive security secrets after leaving the White House in 2021. He mishandled classified documents that included information about the secretive US nuclear programme and potential domestic vulnerabilities in the event of an attack, the indictment said.