Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump talks to reporters, along with his lawyer Todd Blanche, at Manhattan state court in New York, Monday, April 22, 2024. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP)
A past president of the United States is on trial, and only the jury and people in the courtroom will be able to see this important event.
Even though we can listen to arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in real time, and watch every motion hearing of the “Idaho Four” murders, or broadcast of Idaho’s “Doomsday Cult” murder trial, we can’t watch a former U.S. president face a jury of his New York peers.
This case has all the makings of a popular true crime series. A reality TV star is running to be president. He reportedly had a relationship with a porn star. The candidate reportedly asks his “fixer” to give money to the adult film actor to keep her quiet in the final days of the campaign. The candidate reportedly ordered the falsification of business records to make it appear as if the “fixer” was paid for legal services and the hush money was made up by the adult film actor.
Last summer I wrote in the Pennsylvania Capital Star, “Everyone in the country, and around the world, should have the opportunity to watch, in real time, the unedited presentation of evidence” against Donald Trump and from Trump’s “legal team, if he chooses to present evidence.”
“News of the trial should not come only from talking heads and media outlets sometimes biased in their reporting,” I stated.
So why can’t we watch the first of what might be Trump’s four criminal trials — and maybe one of the most significant events in history?
New York does not allow cameras in the courtroom. If you want to record what’s happening you need to bring a sketch artist.
According to The Associated Press, regulations limiting media coverage in New York courtrooms date back nearly a century. After the trial of Bruno Hauptmann for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh’s young son, photographers were banned from New York courtrooms. The ban extended to film and ultimately to television cameras.
The two federal courtrooms where special counsel Jack Smith will try Trump for allegedly inciting rebellion and mishandling secret documents will also be without cameras.
Electronic media coverage of criminal proceedings in federal court is specifically forbidden under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Rule 53 states:
Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom.
The only real chance of watching Trump on trial will be in Georgia, where Trump faces charges of election meddling. The state gives judges discretion whether to allow television cameras in the courtrooms. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has said he will make all hearings and trials in that case available for broadcast.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book, The Executioner’s Toll (2010) was released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on X @MatthewTMangino