News/Commentary

Donald Trump backs requests for live coverage of his election interference trial: ‘I want sunlight’

November 12, 2023 | | Print Article

Former President Donald Trump wants his federal criminal conspiracy trial to be carried live by the media for the world to see.

“I want this trial to be seen by everybody in the world,” Trump told attendees at a campaign event in New Hampshire on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. “The prosecution wishes to continue this travesty in darkness and I want sunlight.”

Ironically, the frontrunner for the GOP’s presidential nomination has been charged with election interference, with the trial expected to start in March, just as the campaign trail heats up.

To that end, Trump’s legal team filed a motion on Friday that backs the media’s requests for cameras in the courtroom — a request the Justice Department is opposing.

“President Trump absolutely agrees, and in fact demands, that these proceedings should be fully televised so that the American public can see firsthand that this case, just like others, is nothing more than a dreamt-up unconstitutional charade that should never be allowed to happen again,” attorneys John Lauro and Todd Blanche wrote on behalf of Trump.

“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 continued, Reuters reports.

Special Prosecutor Jack Smith’s team violated Trump’s constitutional rights, the filing alleges, adding that U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan allowed “these attacks.”

“These proceedings should be fully televised so that American public can see first hand that this case…is nothing more than a dreamt-up constitutional charade,” Trump’s lawyers argued.

In a November 3 filing, Smith opposed the notion of live coverage, arguing that it could intimidate witnesses and jurors.

As BizPac Review reported, Trump’s team has been fighting Chutkan and Smith over the issue of gag orders.

Chutkan imposed a gag order against the president on Oct. 17. In the wake of the initial appeal, the order was reimposed on Oct. 29.

Earlier this month, after a filing with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the gag order was “administratively stayed pending further order of the court.”

“No court in American history has imposed a gag order on a criminal defendant who is actively campaigning for public office–let alone the leading candidate for President of the United States,” the filing stated. The gag order, Trump’s lawyers argued, muzzled “President Trump’s core political speech during an historic Presidential campaign.”

For many, the attempts to silence Trump were yet another example of a politically-motivated injustice — more reason, his supporters say, to want the trial to be covered live.

“Let the world see this kangaroo court, banana republic bullsh*t,” one user on X wrote. “Do it.”

“The corruption of this kangaroo court will be on display for the world to see,” another stated. “Soros will regret paying for this fiasco.”

“There’s obviously a reason they don’t want us to watch it,” reasoned a third.

According to the Associated Press, “Federal court rules prohibit broadcasting proceedings, but The Associated Press and other news organizations say the unprecedented case of a former president standing trial on accusations that he tried to subvert the will of voters warrants making an exception.”

Melissa Fine
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