Donald Trump Pushes for Live Broadcast of His Trial Over Election Subversion – Donald Trump’s legal team has sought approval for live, in-courtroom TV coverage of his trial on allegations of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election, aiming to enable the ex-president to publicly assert the unfairness of the proceedings. The Friday filing, referencing unverified claims of persecution by the Biden administration, aligns with media organizations’ initiatives to broadcast the trial live, set to commence in March 2024.
For decades, there has been a longstanding rule barring the televised broadcast of criminal and civil proceedings in federal court, where the public can typically attend in person. Notably, Trump’s legal team, in their five-page submission, makes no reference to this rule. “The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness. President Trump calls for sunlight,” the filing asserts, as first reported by Politico.
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“Every person in America, and beyond, should have the opportunity to study this case firsthand and watch as, if there is a trial, president Trump exonerates himself of these baseless and politically motivated charges.” The filing concludes with reaffirming Trump’s claim that he believes the election was “rigged and stolen.” The prosecutors, in responding to requests from various media outlets to broadcast the trial live on television, cited the federal court rule against such broadcasts.
The government contended that televising the trial could pose risks, including the potential intimidation of witnesses and jurors. News outlets, highlighting the high public interest in the case and logistical challenges for accommodating spectators in the courthouse, presented these factors in their arguments. Facing four criminal prosecutions and numerous civil lawsuits, Trump seeks to reshape his legal challenges into a campaign platform for the 2024 Republican Party’s White House nomination.
Despite being a frontrunner for the nomination, he is under a gag order preventing social media denouncements of prosecutors, witnesses, and court staff. Trump argues that this order infringes on his presidential campaign and free speech rights, considering live television coverage as a potential way to bypass the gag order. Prior to the imposition of the gag order, Trump had labeled the special counsel in the relevant case, Jack Smith, as “deranged.”
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The former president had also made remarks about the grand jury testimony of his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows. Prosecutors in the case said Trump had clearly been seeking to “send an unmistakable and threatening message to a foreseeable witness in this case.” In late October, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan decided to enforce the gag order, having earlier placed a temporary hold on the measure. The judge also rejected Trump’s plea to halt the order while his legal team appealed to a higher court.