Will Trump’s federal election trial be broadcast live on TV?

Donald Trump’s attorneys have requested live, in-courtroom television coverage of his trial, the latest in a long line since 1986, on charges that he conspired to overturn the 2020 presidential election loss to Joe Biden and the Democrats. The written request to Judge Tanya Chutkan said that “value can be gained from televised broadcasts”.

However, the US has a legal ruling, one that has been in place for decades, which prohibits televised broadcasting of criminal and civil proceedings in federal court. Court proceedings, therefore, can generally be attended in person by the public. The five-page submission filed by Trump’s attorneys, according to reports, fails to mention that rule.

The filing, which was first released by Politico, called the charges “meritless” and said that Trump has been treated “unfairly by his political opponent”. Their argument is based on the idea that “every person in America, and beyond, [can] study this case first hand and watch as, if there is a trial, President Trump exonerates himself of these baseless and politically motivated charges”. They claim that the prosecutors want the trial held “in darkness”.

Full screen

Will TV companies be able to broadcast the trial?

It’s not looking likely. And that’s not due to the fact that Donald Trump’s attorney letter is written like a parent getting his/her child out of cross-country practice at school, but for the simple reason that the ruling against broadcasting is there in black and white, clear for all to see.

Prosecutors recognised the interpretation of the ruling meant that both that the public and the media had “a constitutional right of access” to the trial. But they claimed that was “the right to attend a criminal trial” and “not the right to broadcast it.”

Request for TV coverage part of Trump’s ‘strategy of creating noisy conflict’

News outlets have pushed to be allowed live coverage of the event, as is natural, but the court states that broadcasting the trial present risks to the proceeding, including increasing the chances of potential intimidation of those involved. The Guardian says that “live television coverage could serve as a means to circumvent” Trump’s gag order which he is currently under, one which prohibits the 45th US President from “using social media platforms to denounce prosecutors, potential witnesses and court staff”.

The New York Times were more critical of the 45th President, saying that the request for television was a more cynical move, and that Trump “has opted to pursue a strategy of creating noisy conflict to obscure the legal issues underpinning his cases and to use the proceedings to amplify the message of victimhood and grievance.”

Will Trump stand in the 2024 election?

The former reality television star is leading the field of Republican candidates seeking presidential nomination for 2024; Biden, on the other side of the debate, is expected to win the Democratic Party’s nomination to a second term.