Judge Chutkan Faces Tough Decision in Donald Trump Trial

A coalition of major news organizations and broadcasters are calling on the judge overseeing the trial into former President Donald Trump‘s alleged criminal attempt to overturn the 2020 election results to allow cameras to film the proceedings.

In court filings shared with Deadline, several media outlets such as C-Span, the Associated Press, CNN, ABC News and The New York Times are urging Judge Tanya Chutkan to take the unprecedented step of allowing cameras into a federal criminal trial.

In their argument, the news organizations suggest that cameras should be allowed to record the proceedings as “we have never, in the history of our nation” had a federal criminal trial that warrants audio and visual access more thanTrump’s alleged attempt to ‘subvert the will of the people.’”

“The central purpose of the constitutional right of access—the law that governs here—is to ensure fair trials and to promote confidence in the justice system,” lawyers representing the news organizations wrote in the filings. “Broadcasting the trial proceedings in this case will clearly advance that interest.”

The broadcasting and photographing of criminal proceedings in federal courts is prohibited under the Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, obstructing a congressional proceeding and conspiracy against rights as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and the events which led up to the January 6 attack. The trial is due to begin in March 2024.

“The prosecution of a former President, now a presidential contender, on charges of subverting the electoral process, presents the strongest possible circumstances for continuous public oversight of the justice system,” the filings say. “That oversight, rooted in decades of First Amendment precedent and sound judicial policy, will be functionally illusory without audiovisual access to these proceedings.”

The news companies also note how Trump and his legal team have spoken about their desire for cameras to be allowed at his federal trial.

“For his benefit, and that of the Court and the public, real-time audiovisual coverage will be a critical step in stemming false conspiracy theories across the entire spectrum of public opinion, regardless of the trial’s outcome,” the filings add.

Chutkan is also being asked to consider other alternatives to allow the federal trial to be recorded, such as allowing a full YouTube live stream for the proceedings, or the having the Washington D.C. court release visual and audio recordings of proceedings at the conclusion of each day

Trump’s legal team has been contacted for comment via email.

Trump is currently involved in a civil trial where he is accused by Attorney General Letitia James of having fraudulently inflated the value of several of his properties in financial statements. Cameras are not allowed in the Manhattan court during proceedings, but photographers are allowed to briefly take pictures at the start of each session.

A similar arrangement was made when Trump appeared at a New York court in April for his historic arraignment to face 34 counts of falsifying business records.

Trump’s upcoming election interference trail in Georgia, which has no start date yet, could be filmed for broadcast.

State law requires that cameras be allowed in courtrooms in Georgia during judicial proceedings, with the judge’s approval, to provide greater transparency.

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